This Light, the Will of the Heart, I See
by MattsyKun
Summary: “You may have tried to weaken us. You may have tried to pull us apart. But this bond, this rinji kenpei, has brought us closer than ever. We will stand for justice, and, as dragons, we will not be swayed and defeated as easily as you may think." ShiroOC
1. The Arrancar

This Light, The Will of the Heart, I See

"It is a very risky operation, but it is the only plan of attack we have. I wish you all good luck." – Yamamoto Shigekuni Genryusai (is that in the right order?!)

**NOTE: This is the second revision of this fanfic. If you have been reading it before, ya might wanna go back through an' look through it again… All of the chapters have been revised.**

**Inspiration: **This Light I See by Toshiro Hitsugaya (Bleach Beat Collection), Will of the Heart, and Empathy by KanonKyoya (idk if I spelt that right…)

**Chapter Rating: **PG-13 for minor fight scenes and minor fluff

**Spoiler Warnings: **None that I can think of.

(note: it's the typical Japanese way of saying names; last name first)

**Chapter 1: The Arrancar**

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Sakana Satoshi was a patient captain, even if it didn't seem like it. Her patience had earned her her position in the Court Guard Squads. But even still, her patience was tried and tried again, with the same result; a lazy gesture, a "_yare, yare_…", or something to that effect. It was rare when the fourteenth taichou was angry, and nothing truly angered her.

The taichou had just come back from an important meeting; apparently, fifth division fukutaichou Momo Hinamori had disappeared, leaving all the responsibility to the fifth captain, Amaya "Higashi" Aizen, the daughter of the traitor. Sakana's squad, being a squad that trained animals for tracking and fighting, was in charge of finding Momo, but with no luck. Finally, the taichou had sat down at her desk, staring off into space like she normally did.

Toshiro Hitsugaya was an icy taichou, rarely showing any emotion (but not a total block of ice like a certain scarf-wearing captain). He was a prodigy, known for his skills and sharp mind. When there was a problem, his squad was typically called in for help. When his patience was tried, he got more and more irritated, until the temperature had successfully gone below freezing and the provoker finally became scared enough to leave him alone.

This taichou was also at the meeting, but he hadn't paid any attention to it. Instead, he had spent the two hours staring at his taichou counterpart. They had been great friends in their childhood. Sakana was born like a noble, although her mother wasn't a member of the noble families. Sakana was a day and a hundred years older than Toshiro, although they looked the exact same age. She was short just like him (albeit only half an inch taller than him, which she gloated about on random occasions); so short that she had to carry her Zanpakuto on her back, and hated paperwork as much as Rangiku or Shunsui (avoided it like it was the plague), but knew her duties as a captain and (reluctantly) did it anyway.

The two seemed to be complete opposites. Even their Zanpakuto were contradictory; Toshiro, an ice Zanpakuto, and Sakana, a flame Zanpakuto. Nonetheless, the two were very good friends, until an incident that happened a few days later.

Sakana woke up to the sunlight in her face. Grumbling, she got out of bed and got ready. Quite faintly, she could hear a few soul reapers chatting, and Sakana, who had nothing else better to do at that particular moment, eavesdropped on their conversation from her quarters.

"_Hai_, I heard she came back yesterday."

"That's a relief. The 5th division is hopeless sometimes without both the captain and the lieutenant." The other Shinigami said. Sakana raised an eyebrow. If Momo had come back to the Soul Society, Toshiro and Sakana would have noticed it at once, and the captains would know before their subordinates. Something didn't sit well with the captain, so she went to go pay her friend Hitsugaya a visit.

"Toshiro!" Sakana exclaimed cheerfully, bursting into the office. Rangiku was nowhere to be seen, as usual; the lazy busty fukutaichou was probably either drinking or… drinking. Or sleeping somewhere other than the office. Sakana knew Rangiku avoided paperwork like the plague. Toshiro looked up at his fellow captain and sighed.

"It's Hitsugaya-taichou."

"Whatever. Hey, I overheard a couple of people talking about how Hinamori is back in the Seireitei."

Toshiro raised a slender white eyebrow. "How? We would have noticed by now."

Hinamori Momo, the girl who was basically Hitsugaya's sister, had gone missing about two months after Aizen defected. Many people were unsure of how to take the girl's sudden disappearance, but the basic idea was that she too had defected and went to join "her Captain Aizen". Toshiro had spent a week trying to find his sister, but to no avail. As the weeks passed, more and more people suspected she was on Aizen's side.

"I… just don't know." Sakana said, bowing her head slightly. She stretched. "It's so confusing. I just don't get it. It does not make sense."

Toshiro smirked, "I'm sure it's nothing. Nothing you can't handle, at least." He said, causing the other captain to flush slightly.

"Okay, _yuki-ouji_ cut it out." She said, reaching out to ruffle his hair; the other captain shunpo'ed out of his seat onto the sofa as a low growl came from Sakana. Toshiro looked at her in alarm, and noticed the other taichou was blushing.

"I'm hungry." Sakana said sheepishly.

"Then go to your division and eat." Toshiro grumbled, crossing his arms. Sakana gave him a skeptical look.

"Remember, my division has a serious lack of food for no apparently reason." Sakana smiled. Toshiro sighed and got up, leading his friend to his refrigerator in a spare room. Sakana was always hungry because she burnt so much energy trying to keep her reiatsu from overpowering everyone. All captains had to do this; it took more energy for some than others. Sakana pulled out some food and began eating it.

"I hope you know we have to get going. Meeting." Toshiro said. Sakana muttered something that sounded like "again, dammit?!" and followed her fellow taichou out of the building.

True to the Generic Random Subordinate's word, Hinamori had indeed returned. Sakana sat in her spot, a very soft growl resting in the back of her throat. Hinamori walked past Toshiro and said, "Hello, Hitsugaya-Taichou."

"_Hitsugaya-Taichou?_" Sakana thought, skeptical. The 14th division captain was now very suspicious. Something was not right, but she couldn't just say "hey, I think this isn't Hinamori", so she stayed quiet. However, she still could not quell the low growl in the back of her throat.

"So, you really did return, huh?" Toshiro asked casually. Hinamori nodded.

"I sure did, Hitsugaya-Taichou. After all, I'm here." Hinamori said. She then went to go stand in her spot next to her captain. Sakana then had an idea, and went over to the 5th division fukutaichou.

"_Ooi_, Hinamori." Sakana said.

"_Ohayo_, Satoshi-Taichou." Momo replied, "Is there something I can do for you?"

"I was just wondering if you were okay, that's all." Sakana said offhandedly. Sakana could smell Hinamori's scent— that was for certain— but underneath it she could smell a much different scent that made her skin crawl.

Arrancar.

"Oops, the meeting's about to start!" Sakana said in a hurry, rushing back to her spot next to Toshiro (Mayuri was out on a mission to the world of the living to visit Kisuke on some important business). Yamamoto started talking about properly filing paperwork. In the middle of Yamamoto's lecture, Sakana leaned over and whispered into his ear.

"Something's not right."

"What do you mean?" the white-haired genius asked. Sakana looked over at Hinamori, who was paying attention to the soutaichou's every word.

"Her scent; I can smell arrancar underneath it."

Toshiro let out a soft gasp. "What?"

The soutaichou looked at the two of them, and they looked back rather innocently. He continued talking, and Sakana leaned towards Toshiro again.

"It's true. I can smell Arrancar underneath Hinamori's scent. Whoever that is… it's not Momo. I'm surprised Amaya-chan hasn't noticed anything yet." Sakana gestured at her former fukutaichou, who seemed to be drifting off.

"What'll we do?" Hitsugaya asked. Sakana raised an eyebrow in surprise; normally the young taichou would have something in mind.

"We'll wait for now. She just got back, after all." Sakana said.

"Hitsugaya-taichou. Satoshi-taichou. What is so interesting that you must interrupt my lecture?" Yamamoto's voice boomed out. The two taichou exchanged a brief glance before Sakana spoke up.

"We'll tell you later." Sakana said lazily, receiving a glare from the soutaichou.

"You two will stay after the meeting." He growled. Sakana couldn't help but laugh (on the inside) at the soutaichou. It was so humorous when old people got angry. Yamamoto dismissed the meeting a few minutes later.

"Hitsugaya-taichou, Satoshi-taichou…" Yamamoto's voice trailed off as he noticed that the two young taichou were not there. The old soutaichou's eye twitched angrily and he moved swiftly out of the room to give "those two whippersnappers" a piece of his mind. He was surprised to see the two taichou watching Momo leave.

"Huh? Oh, _sumanai_, Yamamoto-soutaichou." Sakana said, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

"What were you two talking about earlier during my lecture?" Yamamoto asked. The two taichou looked at each other again.

"Well, we haven't exactly verified it yet but… we don't think that that's Hinamori-fukutaichou." Toshiro said, pointing in the direction the fukutaichou had stridden off. Yamamoto's eyebrow raised.

"And why do you believe that is?"

Sakana paused for a moment. She knew Ara, her third seat, told her that everyone had their own individual scent (like hers was ink and primrose), but until a few days ago she had not been able to smell such scents. She didn't want to mention this to the soutaichou, so she stated her other fact. "She called Hitsugaya-taichou by his title."

"And what's so surprising about that?"

"She NEVER does that. NEVER. I'm always correcting her." Toshiro said.

Yamamoto knew that the two could handle themselves, so he simply told them to keep a close watch on Hinamori and investigate it further. He also told them to take any action necessary after they found out what they needed to know. The two captains walked down the street, following Hinamori's path of travel.

"Are we going to stalk—"

Hitsugaya's words were cut off with a loud scream. The two captains shunpo'ed to get to where they thought the scream was. Hinamori was standing over Kira Izuru's body, Zanpakuto in hand. A _hanyou hutokutei niji_ (A/N: Generic Random Subordinate, or GRS [HHN in Japanese]) had noticed this and screamed in horror.

"Mo…mo…" Toshiro said, astonished. The fukutaichou turned to the two captains, pointing the blood-soaked Zanpakuto at them.

"The Hinamori Momo you know is gone." She said. Sakana managed to get a whiff of the scent underneath Hinamori's. It was definitely an Arrancar, but how did it get into the Seireitei without them noticing something?

"Who are you?"

"Why, I'm Hinamori Momo, 5th division Fukutaichou."

Sakana's lips pulled into a smirk. She had her ace drawn, and was ready to play it. The answer to this question would determine if the taichou could attack or not.

"What do you normally call him?" Sakana asked, gesturing towards Toshiro. Momo laughed, making both taichou uncomfortable.

"Hitsugaya-taichou, what else?"

Sakana leapt forward. Neither Toshiro nor "Hinamori" saw the taichou disappear before Sakana landed on Hinamori with a loud thud. Sakana was now sitting on Hinamori, pinning her hands down with her own.

"Wrong answer. Now, who are you, really?" Sakana growled. "Hinamori's" face suddenly took on a hollowish grin, and Sakana could feel the Arrancar's reiatsu underneath her. The captain leapt off and landed back next to Hitsugaya.

"How nice of you to ask. I was ill-informed, then. My name is Gay, and I'm one of Aizen-sama's special arrancar. I can take the appearance of anyone." Gay said, turning into an arrancar. He had grey-ish red hair and silver eyes. He was wearing a Shikakushou (AN: The black kimono that soul reapers wear), which made Toshiro wonder if Hinamori had really sided with Aizen for a split second.

Sakana had to resist the urge to burst into laughter, but she failed miserably. "Gay? That's your name? Gay?!" The taichou almost toppled onto the ground with laughter. The arrancar turned an angry red and gripped his Zanpakuto even tighter.

"What are you doing here? Where's Hinamori?" Toshiro asked angrily; he had much more self-control than his fiery counterpart. Gay smiled again and lunged at Sakana, grabbing her. Sakana stopped laughing and looked alarmed for a moment.

"Hinamori has gone to Aizen-sama."

The cold truth settled on their shoulders. So the rumors that had been circulating around the Seireitei were right; Hinamori had defected as well. Toshiro gritted his teeth. She would be labeled as a traitor from now on. Even if she did come back to the soul society, it would not make a bit of difference. They would execute her.

Toshiro was now seething. No one dared to put a finger on his Sakana. He blushed inwardly when he realized he had claimed Sakana as his. Sakana was now squirming.

"There's no escape. You can't get out of my grip." Gay said. Sakana managed to put one hand (her right; she wields her Zanpakuto with her left hand) on her Zanpakuto.

"Who said I wanted to escape? _Honouten ni Umuranzatsu!"_ Sakana shouted.

The air became insufferably hot for a brief moment, and Gay leapt away from the 14th division taichou. She now held her Zanpakuto in her left hand, a grin spread across her face. Toshiro knew that the girl was not one that craved fighting (like Zaraki), but she did enjoy a good fight now and then. And right about now, she was looking for one.

"Kaenrinmaru!"

Toshiro leapt onto the roof of a nearby building as Sakana swung her Zanpakuto. A dragon came from the tip of her Zanpakuto, but it was made of fire. Gay dodged the flames and released his Zanpakuto.

"Ahogar, Fuego-Asesino!" (1)

A torrent of water came towards Sakana, who had a mortified look on her face. The taichou was knocked off of her feet by the large amount of water. When it had washed away, Sakana was soaking wet and shivering. Toshiro leapt down and drew his Zanpakuto.

"_Souten ni Zase!_ Hyorinmaru!" Toshiro yelled, protecting Sakana from another torrent of water. Sakana shook her Zanpakuto off and tried to attack, but all that came was a pillar of smoke. Damn, this was the worst opponent for Sakana: a fire-killer. Unless she could dry herself and her Zanpakuto off, she would be useless. (like Roy Mustang, lol)

"Damn…" Sakana grumbled. Toshiro narrowed his eyes as Gay attacked with a more relentless water attack.

"Sakana, go and get Kira to the fourth Division. I'll take care of… him." Hitsugaya said, not wanting to say his name without laughing. Sakana nodded and peeked out from the wall of ice Toshiro had created. Gay was standing a ways away from the third fukutaichou. Using shunpo, she dashed out from behind the wall, past Gay, and picked up Izuru.

"You think you can get away that easily?" Gay shouted, swinging his Zanpakuto at Sakana. Toshiro hadn't anticipated that, and rushed forward to freeze the water attack in its tracks. Instead, the water blast threw the 10th division taichou into a wall, where he slumped to the ground, blood seeping from his head. Sakana shouted his name, and he looked up. His sight was starting to get blurred, and the taichou fell unconscious, his grip on Hyorinmaru loosening.

"Toshiro! TOSHIRO!"

Sakana shouted at her friend, but he was unresponsive. Gay laughed at Sakana's expression; the taichou was now snarling, looking extremely pissed. A few fourth division members, Unohana Retsu included, came to the scene.

"Unohana-chan." Sakana said, waving her hand with her Zanpakuto in it. Retsu gently took Izuru from Sakana's grasp. "Who's that?"

"Nobody important, just an Arrancar that I'm going to kill." Sakana said, narrowing her eyes. Unohana didn't respond to the taichou, but turned to Isane.

"Isane-san, please retrieve Hitsugaya-taichou. He must be treated immediately." Unohana said. Isane ran to the small taichou and gently picked him up. Surprisingly, the frosty taichou was very light. Sakana leapt at Gay and their swords clashed. Sakana gritted her teeth and shoved Gay back before barking an order at the relief squad.

"Get out of here! I can't hold him off forever!"

Unohana and Isane nodded shunpo'ing away to the fourth division. The two combatants leapt away from each other, and Sakana removed her haori.

"Now that they're out of the way, I can finally get serious."

"_Shinni_? So you weren't serious before?" Gay asked, grinning. Sakana simply smirked at the arrancar. He wouldn't know what hit him.

"Bankai."

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

**Translations and kuso like that**

_Ooi: _Hey!

_Ohayo: _Good Morning.

_Yare yare: _Oh dear, or my my. Shunsui has a tendency to say this a lot.

_Hai: _yes.

_Yuki-ouji: _Snow/Ice Prince. Sakana's pet name for Toshiro. She calls him that a lot when they are alone together.

_Sumanai: _I'm sorry.

_Hanyou hutokutei niji (HHN): _Generic Random Subordinate (GRS). One of those random filler characters that shout something in the background. Nobody cares about them. IT'S SOLDIER A! (ish listening to Soldier A by Vic Mignogna)

_Honouten ni Umuranzatsu: _the Shikai release for Kaenrinmaru. It roughly translates to Bring disorder on the blazing heavens.

_Ahogar, Fuego-Asesino: _The name of Gay's (snort) Zanpakuto. It's Spanish (I don't know if it's right, though. I'll have to ask my Mexican buddy.) for Drown, fire-killer. As you can tell, it's a water-type (Pokémon! Naw, joking.) Zanpakuto.

_Shinni: _Really?

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

(1) They will figure out later that Gay is actually a really special Arrancar. He can take on the appearance of any person, soul reaper or otherwise. Therefore, he doesn't really look like an Arrancar. Another special think about Gay is his Zanpakuto. You know how arrancar change shape when they release their Zanpakuto? Gay doesn't do that. Aizen specially created Gay to infiltrate and blend in with the soul society.


	2. Lost Memories

This Light, the Will of the Heart, I See

_"We have a job to do! We're the punishment force; punish the traitors for their actions!" –Soifon_

**NOTE: This is the second revision of this fanfic. If you have been reading it before, ya might wanna go back through an' look through it again…**

**Inspiration: **Memories in the Rain by Ichigo and Rukia (Bleach Beat Collection)

**Chapter Rating: **PG for minor fight scenes and very sweet fluff. And angry cursing.

**Spoiler Warnings: **None

**Chapter Warnings: **Toshiro is OOC.

"_These are normal thoughts."_

"_**These are thoughts that Sakana receives and sends."**_

_This is one's Zanpakuto._

**Chapter 2: Lost Memories**

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Gay's eyes widened as Sakana's entire appearance seemed to change. Two huge wings of flame grew on her back, as well as a dragon's tail (think: Eastern dragon). She was wearing black gloves without the tips on her hands. The air around her was beginning to turn extremely blistering hot, and her eyes changed from their reddish-brown color to pure red. The Arrancar swung his Zanpakuto, once again conjuring a tidal wave. Sakana grinned and concentrated her reiatsu. A huge flame erupted from her hands, encircling the water and causing it to partially evaporate. The result was that Gay was scalded with his own water (now heated) and then burned.

"Heh, got 'im." Sakana smirked.

"Not quite, Satoshi."

Sakana's eyes widened as a sword stabbed her in the back. Gay had managed to get behind her, but how?

"Graaaah!" Sakana roared, throwing a fireball at Gay; it missed and scorched the wall behind him. The taichou was beginning to tire, which was good for Gay. Gay lunged again at Sakana, who parried and then leapt back. She was panting heavily and covered in sweat. Gay then slashed at Sakana, creating a wound on her head. Blood seeped from the wound and Sakana grimaced.

"I may have to use that." Sakana huffed. Kaenrinmaru growled in alarm.

"_We don't know what will happen if you use it! You promised not to use it…"_

"What's the worst that could happen? I can't lose this fight!" She retorted. The dragon spirit seemed a little fidgety.

"… _Alright. Use it if you must, little one."_

"Just stay strong, Kaenrinmaru." Sakana said, mentally stroking her Zanpakuto spirit.

"Time to finish this!" Gay shouted (in a rather gay voice, I must add. Think: Valley Girl voice. xP.). He raised his Zanpakuto, but stopped upon feeling Sakana's reiatsu, which had gone over 9000 (I could put a whole dragon ball z scouter reference in here, but I'm not going to).

Sakana was focusing all of her reiatsu towards the Arrancar that had threatened Toshiro. The air was becoming very hazy; so hazy that Gay's Zanpakuto would not work. For the first time in a while, someone had invoked Sakana's dangerous wrath. Someone had actually pissed her off.

"_Enkouauto no Kyuukyoku_." Sakana said softly, "Be strong, Kaenrinmaru."

There was a huge explosion of flame around Gay. The arrancar screamed as he was brutally roasted within inches of his life. Sakana coughed up blood as she lowered her hands. There was a loud snapping noise, and Sakana's Zanpakuto cracked from the hilt to the tip as it reappeared in Sakana's hands and the wings and tail disappeared. She dropped Kaenrinmaru and fell to her knees, her sight becoming unfocused. She faintly heard someone gently calling her name and felt someone tenderly picking her up before she passed out.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

"…"

"…!"

"…?"

"…!"

"…ane-san…"

"…Hai…chou…"

"…ght…?

"…she…fine…"

"…sugaya…?"

"…not…"

"…ack lat…"

Sakana drifted in and out of unconsciousness. Sometimes she felt something cold and damp on her forehead, and she would shy away from it. Other times she felt someone gently lifting her up into a somewhat sitting position. She felt worry and anguish all around her. She couldn't recognize who was talking to her, but she could feel the heartwarming compassion of that person. The taichou felt so drained, so exhausted, that she couldn't even attempt to focus her attention to anything.

One day she opened her eyes, feeling very drowsy. Her sight was very blurry, but she saw the figure of someone standing over her. Judging by the heartwarming feeling coming from the figure, she guessed it was Unohana.

"Sakana-chan, I see you're awake. How are you feeling?" Unohana asked. Sakana closed her eyes again and took a deep breath. What was this feeling? She decided to ignore it for the time being.

"A little dizzy… and I ache all over." Sakana grumbled. Unohana smiled.

"Well, you were quite injured from that battle with the Arrancar, and you did drain almost all of your _reiryoku_ with that final attack. Are you feeling nauseous or anything?" Unohana explained. Sakana shook her head slowly, trying not to worsen her headache.

"Just dizzy. And I feel really hot…"

"That may be a side-effect of your bankai. Now, lie down and relax." Unohana said soothingly. Sakana felt her eyes getting heavy, and she felt a cold cloth on her forehead before she slipped back into the world of unconsciousness.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Sakana sat up in a grassy field. There were trees and grass everywhere, as well as a river. In the distance, she saw lush green mountains. She blinked as she felt someone else's presence lingering around her.

"Kaenrinmaru?"

The huge dragon curled up next to Sakana. He was easily four times her size. Sakana snuggled against the giant Zanpakuto spirit.

"_I won't be able to be with you for a while, at least until you regain you spiritual powers."_Kaenrinmaru said. Sakana looked up at the dragon questionably.

"Huh? Why?" Sakana asked, "You're part of me, Kaenrinmaru!"

"_Your reiryoku is too weak. If you tried to wield me, you could die. It's not safe for you at the moment to wield me." _The Zanpakuto spirit said. Sakana leaned back against the dragon, sighing.

"Oh, well, I guess it can't be helped. I knew what I was getting into…" She said, squeezing the dragon's claw.

"_Be strong for me, little one,_" Kaenrinmaru said, _"Now, rest."_

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Sakana woke up every now and then, feeling drained. Her wounds had healed, so she only felt exhausted from the lack of reiryoku. The fiery captain was soon able to move about her room, but was quickly becoming testy at being trapped in the fourth division for so long. A week in the fourth division seemed like forever to her, even if she was first stationed in the division when she became a Shinigami.

A few days later, Unohana came into her room and told her that, she could be released from the fourth division today or tomorrow. Sakana, overjoyed, followed the healer out of the room to a different room. Her Shiro-chan's room.

"Hitsugaya-taichou has been asking for you." Unohana said on the way, smiling gently as the girl blushed.

"H-He has? How has he been doing?"

"He's been showing very slight signs of mental problems. He took a hard hit to the head protecting you. Almost a concussion." Unohana said, "He's mostly been sleeping, but when he was awake all he did was talk about you. He's been worried sick."

They stopped at a room, and Unohana gently pulled the door open. Sakana stepped in as the door slid shut. She saw a tuft of white hair sticking out from the pile of sky blue blankets. Sakana smiled; her _yuki-ouji _was so adorable when he was sleeping. She went over to his bedside and sat down in the chair. She noticed his forehead sticking out from underneath the blanket, and she gently brushed his damp, wet hair out of his face. He shivered and burrowed a little deeper into his blankets. Sakana smiled and gently stroked the parts of his white hair that were not covered with bandages. The ice prince twitched a little bit at Sakana's touch, but his eyes slowly flickered open.

"…_Mai yuki-ouji…" _Sakana said softly. Toshiro's aqua eyes flickered and he smiled.

"..._baka, _It's Hitsugaya-taichou." The white-haired prodigy corrected.

"_Nanto_. How are you feeling?" Sakana asked, gently putting her hand on his forehead.

"I just missed you, is all. Just you being near me… I feel a lot better." Toshiro said. Sakana blushed and her heart began to race. Where was this all coming from? She knew that Toshiro was not the kind of person to say mushy stuff. Toshiro scooted over, wincing as he did so, and patted the space next to him.

"Lie down."

Sakana did as she was told. Toshiro buried his nose into her hair, inhaling the pyro taichou's scent. It smelt like Starbucks coffee; Sakana had an addiction to the frappucino. It was almost all she ever drank, ever since Ichigo had brought it for her from the world of the living.

"Y'know, you smell nice." Toshiro said. Sakana blushed again, and snuggled closer to her _yuki-ouji_.

"When I dove to protect you, the only thing going through my mind was making sure you weren't injured. I care about you a lot." Toshiro murmured. Sakana felt her body temperature rise and she blushed even more.

"…_Aishiteru, kaen-hime._" Toshiro whispered, moving over and gently capturing Sakana's lips. Sakana returned the kiss, her mind swimming. Toshiro broke the kiss and Sakana got off the bed. Toshiro sat up carefully as to not injure himself and hugged the girl he had just admitted his love for.

"…_Arigatou_…" Toshiro whispered in Sakana's ear. The icy taichou fell limp and fell back onto the sky blue pillow. Sakana first panicked until she realized that he had fallen asleep. Sakana pulled up the covers and gently kissed the taichou on his nose.

"_Watashi Mo Aishiteru, yuki-ouji._" Sakana whispered in his ear. She thought she saw him smile as she left his room. While she was trying to find Unohana, she ran into Rangiku.

"Rangiku-chan!" Sakana said, waving.

"Sakana-taichou! How's my taichou doing?" Rangiku asked. Surprisingly the fukutaichou did not smell like sake, for once.

"He's sleeping right now." Sakana said, trying to hide a blush. Rangiku gave her drinking buddy a questionable look.

"Are you blushing? What happened?" She asked hungry for gossip. The taichou glared at the vice-captain before holding her head with one hand. It was as if someone was beating on her head with a mallet.

"What's wrong, Sakana-taichou?" Rangiku asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. Sakana's reaction scared Rangiku.

Sakana's eyes widened, and Rangiku could now see that her eyes were no longer their reddish-brown color, but a very light grey. Sakana pushed Rangiku away with surprising strength and suddenly backed up, her back hitting the wall. Her face had gone pale and she was gasping for breath.

"Sakana, what's wrong?"

Sakana could not describe what was happening to her. It was almost as if her mind was on a different radio frequency. Even though the building was relatively quiet, in her mind it was almost as if she was in a very crowded room. In a room close by, a Shinigami had died. In another, a Shinigami was fighting for their life. In a room far away, someone was celebrating. However, the thoughts were not the only thing bothering her.

Different feelings were running through her; pain, sorrow, happiness, general stupidity… She could feel it all. All the emotions of the Seireitei. Rangiku stepped closer, her worry and fear almost emitting from her. Sakana's eyes widened even more and she inched away her.

"_Anou_, Sakana?" Rangiku asked, reaching out again for the small trembling body.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Sakana's uneven voice was filled with fear. Rangiku was not sure how to comfort the captain, who had slumped to the ground, her head in her hands. Her entire body shook violently. Rangiku knew that something was terribly wrong, so she backed away from the small captain.

"U…no…hana…" Sakana gasped, attempting to push herself up. The sickening feeling in her stomach rose, and Sakana whimpered softly. Unohana rounded the corner, and Sakana felt her calm demeanor wash over her. She did not feel any better, however.

"I see you are up. How do you feel?" Unohana asked gently. Sakana still felt Rangiku's constantly changing feelings, and it was making her head hurt and her stomach churn.

Sakana opened her mouth to speak, but clapped a hand to her mouth and ran for the nearest bathroom. Unohana followed her and gently rubbed Sakana's back as she retched into the toilet. After emptying her stomach of all of its contents, Sakana shuddered violently and rested her back against the wall. The cold floor felt good against her hot, clammy skin. Her breath was uneven and came in gasps. Sakana squeezed her eyes shut and resisted the urge to throw up again.

"Sakana, please, tell me what happened." Unohana said gently, massaging the taichou's back. Sakana's breath hitched, and she crawled back over to the toilet.

Dry heaves were not fun, as Sakana found out. They scratched her throat and caused her to hack up blood. Unohana gently rubbed her back as the taichou leaned against her.

"…It… hurts…"

"What hurts?" Unohana asked gently. Sakana clutched the taichou's haori and breathed heavily. She could not sense Unohana's reiatsu through her own pain.

"Sakana, please tell me." She said.

"I hear… thoughts… feel pain… other people…" Sakana whispered. She then moved so that she was lying on the cold floor. It felt so good; she could fall asleep here. "It's… side effect… of bankai… didn't think… would hurt… this bad…"

Unohana gently brushed Sakana's bangs out of her face, and noticed that the other taichou was crying from the pain she was experiencing. The medical taichou could feel the tension rising from the other captain, and she pulled out a medicine bottle from the depths of her haori.

"Here, drink this. It should numb the pain a little bit."

Sakana swallowed the medicine with a little bit of difficulty, and almost immediately her mind went numb. _'Ah, a sedative. Sedatives are wonderful friends,_' Sakana thought before her eyes fluttered briefly and she passed out in Unohana's arms. Unohana stood with the young girl in her arms and left the bathroom, searching for her fukutaichou.

"Isane-san, please make Sakana-san's room a little colder than usual. And light one of those calming scented candles; that may help her a little bit." Unohana said after successfully locating her fukutaichou.

"_Hai, _Unohana-taichou.

"Hanataro-san, please go to the storeroom and get some ice, about two or three buckets. Get someone to help you if necessary. Bring them to room 1408 (lol)."

"_H-Hai_, Unohana-taichou."

"Uketashi-san, please get some cloths. About four will suffice."

"_hai_, Unohana-taichou."

Unohana carried Sakana back to her room and laid her down on her bed, covering her with a light blanket. Sakana seemed to have relaxed upon entering the room, possibly because the temperature had been lowered. Unohana gently dampened the cloth and put it on her forehead as Isane lit the scented candle, which smelt like vanilla and coffee beans, Sakana's favorite smell. Sakana relaxed considerably and fell into a deep slumber, occasionally whimpering and shaking.

Later that night, Sakana was tossing and turning in her sleep. The taichou was having a nightmare… a nightmare that could soon become a reality.

_DREAM_

_It was dark. So dark._

_Sakana gripped her Zanpakuto crouched in a fighting position. She felt alone._

_So alone._

_In the dark._

_She heard a yell, which she faintly recognized. What was happening? She reached out; trying to sense any possible reiatsu, but only one surrounded her._

_Aizen._

_A sudden pain in her abdomen snapped her out of her thoughts. Blood seeped from the seemingly spontaneous wound onto the ground. As she bled, she called out for anyone._

_But she was alone._

_In the cold._

_In the dark._

_As her body finally weakened, she collapsed onto the ground, calling for help. Calling for someone, anyone to save her. She called for someone to end the nightmare she was suffering. As her sight became fuzzy, she saw a silhouette standing over her, reaching for her. The silhouette began to shake her, saying something. Sakana could not tell what the person was saying as she slipped away…_

Sakana felt herself being shaken awake. The taichou rubbed her eyes and blinked sleepily. Her entire body was shaking however, as she looked into Unohana's eyes.

"Are you alright?"

Sakana shook her head, her entire body shuddering. She felt even more intense emotions.

Fatality.

Someone had just died, recently in a room close by again.

Anguish.

Someone was suffering pain, but it wouldn't be as bad as hers.

Fear.

Somewhere in the Seireitei, someone was afraid for the future held.

Tension.

The entire Soul Society was on edge. Tension was the strongest thing Sakana felt. Her breathing caught in her throat, and tears sprang to her eyes. The feelings of the Soul Society bore down on her. Her entire body was trembling, and she was gasping for air, her head pounding. She felt dizzy, and let the darkness consume her as she fell unconscious.

Unohana gently hugged the shaking girl to her. Even though she had fainted, her body was still feeling the effects of her bankai. Stroking the young _shunsai_'s head, she picked her up and shunpo'ed to Sakana's quarters.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

**Translations and kuso like that**

_Enkouauto no Kyuukyoku: _Ultimate Flameout. Kaenrinmaru's final bankai ability. If you've ever played Super Smash Bro. Brawl, it looks like Ho-oh's Sacred Fire. Basically burns anything within an inch within their life.

_Mai yuki-ouji: _My snow/ice prince.

_Baka_: idiot.

_Nanto: _Whatever. Sakana has a tendency to say "whatev", but I don't know how to translate that into Japanese. Would it just be nant? O.o

_Aishiteru, kaen-hime:_ I love you, flame princess. Flame princess is Toshiro's nickname for Sakana whenever he is slightly out of it, especially after he has just woken up. Aishiteru means I love you.

_Arigato: _Thank you.

_Reiryoku: _I believe this means spiritual powers.

_Anou: _um…

_Watashi Mo Aishiteru, yuki-ouji:_ I love you too, snow/ice prince. Watashi Mo means as well or also, and when paired with Aishiteru, is almost the equivalent of a proposal. I think…

_Hai_: Yes.

_Shunsai_: a genius or talented person.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Holy [blank] on a [blank] sandwich! I really rewrote this chapter while I was working on rewriting chapter four! xP


	3. Rejection

This Light, the Will of the Heart, I See

Ooh, I was going through my computer files the other day (monthly clean-the-crap-that-you-don't-need-off-of-your-computer day for me), and I found the old plot for this fanfic (when it was going to be a Naruto fanfic)! So this was the basic plot:

_Kabuto finds a girl about the same age as him in the leaf village. He soon discovers this girl is empathic and telepathic. When there is an attack on the leaf village, Kabuto saves the girl, but in the process, he is injured. After admitting his love for the girl, he falls unconscious. The next time they meet, Kabuto has no memory of the girl. The girl tries to get Kabuto's memory back, and succeeds after the two bow-chika-bow-wah. (Insert sultry music here xD) _

That was all I had for the plot. I didn't even have the girls' name. Hence the reason why I never worked on it again. But I think it's better as a Bleach fic, don't you agree?

**NOTE: This is the second revision of this fanfic. If you have been reading it before, ya might wanna go back through an' look through it again…**

**Inspiration: **None.

**Chapter Rating: **PG-15

**Spoiler Warnings: **None that I can think of.

**Chapter Warnings: **Language via Hitsugaya.

"_These are normal thoughts."_

"_**These are thoughts that Sakana sends." This is what she receives.**_

_This is one's Zanpakuto._

**Chapter 3: Rejection**

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Sakana woke up that next morning with a much relaxed sensation. The medicine certainly helped her, because she didn't have any more distressing dreams that night. The smell of eggs and sausage came to her nose, and she went downstairs to see Hana cooking breakfast.

"_Ohayo_, Sakana~! What's wrong?" Hana asked, seeing a rather loopy look on the taichou's face.

"Could y' tone down y'cheerfulness a little bit, ne?" Sakana asked her voice thick and slightly slurred, "You're buzzing my head."

Hana had a confused look on her face, so Sakana decided to elaborate a little for her vice-captain.

"Basically, your cheerfulness is making me feel retardedly giddy. Stop it." She said as Hana sat down with both of their plates.

"Will you be well enough to work?" Hana asked. Sakana shrugged.

"I wouldn't know unless I tried. I have a meeting this morning, so I just have to concentrate on staying away from Zaraki and Kurotsuchi. Those two will be the end of me." Sakana said. She finished her breakfast and washed her dishes in the sink.

"Take care of the division." Sakana said, slinging her Zanpakuto over her back. Kaenrinmaru had indeed left, and it made her feel slightly empty.

"Did you take that medicine?" Hana asked. Sakana made a face and shunpo'ed up the stairs to the bathroom. Sakana picked up the bottle of medicine and drank some of it, making a disgusted face. It seemed to taste different every time. Hana's spirit animal, a collie, was lying outside the bathroom door. Sakana grumbled, and the dog's tail thumped against the floor. Sakana could sense the dog's feelings, but couldn't read her thoughts, which was odd; she had always been able to read a sprit animal's thoughts.

"You're lucky, you know that?" Sakana told the dog, which just wagged her tail and stayed where she was.

"Well, I'm off." Sakana said to her fukutaichou. Hana gave Sakana a concerned look. "Are you sure you're gonna be alright?" she asked, a serious tone in her voice. Sakana smiled at her fukutaichou.

"I'll be alright." She said. The taichou shunpo'ed out the door and disappeared. The collie gave Hana a perplexed look.

"What's wrong?" Hikari asked, "You feel stressed. I'm sure she'll be alright."

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Sakana jumped off the roof and landed in front of the doors to the meeting hall. The effect of the medicine was already beginning to take effect, because she barely heard any thoughts or sense any feelings. Her mind felt numb, but not too numb so she would not be able to think. The 14th division taichou took a deep breath before pushing open the doors to the meeting hall and stepping in.

Most of the captains had arrived already. Yamamoto was seemingly staring off into space, Unohana smiled at Sakana, Byakuya was looking over his report to make sure there were no mistakes, Komamura was talking to Shunsui, her yuki-ouji was gazing at the floor, and Ukitake was reading a book. Soifon, Kenpachi, and Mayuri hadn't showed up yet, and Sakana guessed it was a good thing. She wasn't sure if she could handle walking past the 11th and 12th taichou. Unohana motioned for the young taichou to sit by her, but before she did, she went over to Toshiro.

"Toshiro-kun!" Sakana said cheerfully. The taichou didn't respond, which concerned her a little.

"Toshiro? Are you okay?" She asked, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. The white haired taichou turned around and blinked at her.

"It's Hitsugaya-taichou." Toshiro said. Sakana made a funny face.

"Whatev. Are you okay? You look a little pale." Sakana said, reaching out to feel Toshiro's forehead. Toshiro smacked her hand away with a little more force than she was used to.

"Leave me alone." Toshiro grumbled, a frown present on his face. Sakana noticed that the temperature around him had dropped a little bit.

"What's gotten into you?" Sakana asked, a quizzical look on her face.

"Look, whoever you are, get outta here!"

Reality slapped Sakana in the face like a boot to the head. (lol)

He didn't remember her.

"Wait… don't you remember who I am?"

"I have no fucking idea who the hell you are. Who are you?" Toshiro growled a little rudely. The hairs on the back of Sakana's neck rose in anger.

"I'm Sakana Satoshi, taichou of the 14th division. You're best friend." Sakana said, a little bit of desperation in her voice.

"…don't know you. Besides, if you're a taichou, where's your haori?" Toshiro asked. Sakana thought about it for a second. She had pulled it off when she had been fighting the arrancar, and she had passed out, so she hadn't had a chance to grab it. She then speculated that it had been found and taken to the fourteenth division, or possibly the first division.

"_Anou... _I think it's at my division. I'm not very sure…" Sakana said, scratching her head. Rethinking it, it would most likely be sitting on the back of her chair, clean and smelling like Febreeze.

"That story's less believable. Whatever." Toshiro said, turning away. Dejected, Sakana plopped down next to Unohana on her cushion and sulked.

"Here."

Sakana looked at Byakuya. He was holding Sakana's taichou haori. Sakana smiled weakly at her counterpart and accepted her haori. She put it on and then rested her head on the table. She would now be in a funk for the rest of the day.

How could he not remember her? Just a few days ago, he had admitted that he loved her. What had happened? Sakana buried her face in her arms as her tears disappeared into the sleeves of her Shikakushou. Her entire body was shaking, although not visibly. Unohana gently put a hand on her arm.

"I'm sorry."

Sakana didn't look up at the quiet apology. She didn't want the other captains to think she was weak. If Mayuri or Kenpachi caught her crying, she would never hear the end of it. A soft sob escaped her lips, and Unohana gently rubbed her back.

"When Hitsugaya-taichou woke, we had no way of knowing he would have amnesia. He insisted on being released. I should have kept him." Unohana said softly. Sakana roughly brushed her tears away and sat up as Yamamoto called the meeting to order. Soifon and Mayuri had showed up, but Kenpachi was nowhere to be seen.

"Zaraki-taichou will not be with us, since he is on a mission with his division. Soifon-taichou, your report, please."

When it came time to read her report, Sakana kept pausing in the middle of it. Unohana looked at the younger taichou with worry. Was the loss of Hitsugaya's memory affecting her that much?

"I'm sorry, Soutaichou. My lieutenant wrote this report, and, well, it's illegible. Can you come back to me while I rewrite this?" Sakana said exasperatedly. Yamamoto nodded.

"Kuchiki-taichou, please."

Sakana pulled a pencil and a sheet of paper out of her haori. She began to swiftly write her report again, pausing to decipher what her lieutenant wrote. Mayuri had to deliver his report, so Amaya gently tapped the table in front of her old taichou.

"Sakana!" she hissed quietly. Sakana looked up and glared at her.

"What?"

"Are you okay?" Amaya asked, concern reflecting in her eyes. Sakana ignored her and resumed writing, pausing every now and then.

"Ha, it's done."

"Sakana!"

"What! I'm fine, okay?" Sakana whispered.

Finally, the meeting ended. Sakana felt flushed; her body was going from hot to cold to hot again. Her entire body shuddered violently as she got up from her cushion. Was it a side effect of the medicine? It couldn't be; it would have happened the last time. Her head was pounding violently. She carefully walked out of the meeting hall and to her division, leaning against the wall for support. As her head throbbed, she felt very lethargic.

"Sakana!"

The taichou turned around to see Amaya running towards her. She stopped and leaned wearily against the wall. She could feel Amaya's emotions; mostly worry filled her.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me, and don't try to drag me to the 4th division, it won't work." Sakana said bluntly. Amaya raised an eyebrow at her response.

"I didn't even say—"

"Can read your mind. Side effect of final bankai ability." Sakana said, somewhat enjoying this.

"B-"

"'It's impossible! How did that happen?!' That's what you're wondering, isn't it?" Sakana said smugly. Amaya growled at her.

"Stop it. Really, are you okay? You were shaking throughout the entire meeting. And you look flushed. Now, I'm not saying go to the fourth, but… just take a nap or something. You look like you really need it." Her face cracked into a smile, "I can't have you falling out on us, can I? I'm your best friend; I have to look out for you."

"But the division…"

"Have Hana and Ara look after it for you. Just go lie down on the couch and take a short nap. You've taken naps before, and the division hasn't blown up."

"Yeah, only because you were my fukutaichou. I'm afraid to do it with Hana as my lieutenant." Sakana laughed softly, "You know, a nap does sound good. I think I will."

"I'll come by to see how you're dong. Get some rest." Amaya said shunpo'ing away to her division. There was a thud and a "What is the meaning of this?!" from a certain disgruntled 6th division taichou.

"_Gomennasai_!!"

Sakana blinked drowsily.

A nap sounded wonderful right about now.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Someone shaking her rudely awakened Sakana. Groaning she came out from underneath her taichou haori (she had been using it as a makeshift blanket) and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. How long had she been out? Finally, her vision became focused, and she could see a figure with white hair standing over her.

"Aren't you supposed to be doing paperwork right now?" the figure said in a disapproving manner. Sakana recognized it as Toshiro.

"I was tired, so I took a nap, _yuki-ouji_." Sakana said sleepily.

"That's no excuse. I came to pick up some papers. Where are they?"

Sakana stretched and got off of the couch, leaving her haori on it.

"And it's Hitsugaya-taichou. Seriously."

"_Nanto_, _nanto_. I'll have it done in about 20 minutes if you come back." Sakana said, shuffling some of the paperwork around and finding what belonged to the 10th division before sitting down at her desk.

"You mean you don't have it done? This division is pathetic." Toshiro scoffed. Sakana grimaced and sent a thought to one of the spirit animals that lingered around the office.

"…WHAT THE HELL?! OW!"

"Yeah, see if we're pathetic when I can tell any of the animals here to do whatever I want." Sakana said as Toshiro pried a cat off of his rear end. Toshiro glared at her as Sakana sat down and began to write, a hand on her head. "And please, try to calm down. You're not helping my headache."

Toshiro sat down on the couch, huffing. He did calm down, and Sakana's headache eased away. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Toshiro spoke.

"…_kaen-hime_, _sumimasen_."

Sakana paused and looked up from her paperwork. "Huh? What did you say?"

Toshiro looked at her. "Huh? I didn't say anything. Now get back to work." He said harshly. Sakana blinked and returned to her paperwork.

Had she imagined it? Was it the medicine that was messing with her head again?

"Are you done yet?" Toshiro asked after about five minutes. Sakana sighed and fanned herself with one hand while writing with the other. "Almost."

"Well, hurry up." Toshiro said. Sakana pushed down the growl that rested in the back of her throat.

"How about you shut the hell up and let me finish?" Sakana snapped in a tone she hadn't used in a while (due to Amaya's constant abuse of her captain whenever she snapped at her). Toshiro looked surprised for a moment, and then slammed his hands down on her desk, glaring at her.

"Don't use that tone with me."

Sakana looked at Toshiro with hate filled eyes. "I'm done." She said shortly, shoving the papers towards his chest, "Now leave me the fuck alone."

Toshiro stormed out of the office, leaving the floor to her office covered in a thin sheet of ice. Sakana's resolve shattered once she could no longer feel his reiatsu around the office. Her head fell to the desk with a thump, and she sobbed.

She had never, ever snapped at Toshiro like that.

She hated Aizen. Hated him for sending that Arrancar; hated the Arrancar for attacking her and Toshiro. It was his fault. Standing up and brushing tears from her eyes, she called her spirit animal to her.

"Hi! What's up? What's wrong?" Kaihaku, a shape-shifting raccoon, said as he leapt on her shoulder.

"Nothing. We're going to the 2nd Division."

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Sakana and Soifon walked into the cell where they were keeping the Arrancar. "We haven't been able to get anything out of him, so I don't know what you can possibly do…" Soifon said. Sakana's lips curled into an evil smirk that was eerily reminiscent of Gin's.

"I'm feeling pretty infuriated, so it shouldn't be a problem."

"Oi! Arrancar!" Soifon said. Gay turned around and looked at Sakana.

Sakana noticed that Gay had gotten a little thinner. The Arrancar smirked at her, noticing how distressed she looked.

"_Sate, sate._ If it isn't the fiery taichou."

Soifon blinked and Sakana had rushed the Arrancar and grabbed him by the throat. "Tell us what we want to know. Why did Aizen send you here? What are they planning? I want EVERYTHING." Sakana snarled. Gay pulled a (random) pen from a hidden pocket. Aizen's secret would die with him.

"I will tell you only one thing: Aizen has something planned for the Seireitei, and for you. Something HUGE. I am proud to be part of his plan. His secret shall die with me."

With that, Gay stabbed himself in the heart with the pen. Sakana dropped him and attempted to remove the pen, but the deed had already been done. The Arrancar was dead. (1) Sakana turned to Soifon, who had to control her shaking. Sakana's reiatsu… it wasn't like it was before. Soifon could tell her comrade's reiryoku was tainted with immense hate.

"I'm sorry, Soifon. I didn't mean to… to make him…" Sakana said, suddenly sounding and feeling very guilty. Soifon shrugged.

"Eh, it's okay. Don't beat yourself up about it." Soifon said as the two walked out of the cell. "Oi! Marechiyo! Get that cleaned up!" Soifon hollered at her fat fukutaichou.

"(Om nom nom) Yes'm."

"I've just been really stressed lately…" Sakana said tiredly as they walked through the division. "With Toshiro acting the way he is, it's driving me crazy."

"Your spiritual pressure… when you were talking to that Arrancar, it felt… off. You can't let your hate take over you. Be careful." Soifon warned, "It's happened to a few of my men before. They get so absorbed in their hate and revenge that it consumes them and they lose themselves to their dark sides. (yeah, coughSASUKEUCHIHAcough) You're a captain, so it shouldn't be too big of a problem, but your reiatsu… it will become tainted with a black color if you're not careful. If more than half of it is black when you let it rip, you might not be able to go back." She finished. Sakana nodded. **(LOL, once you go black, you'll never go back! Lol, black person humor! Lol.)**

"Thanks, Soifon-san. I will."

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

**Translations and Kuso like That:**

_Ohayo: _Good Morning.

_Anou: _errr…

_Gomennasai: _Excuse me!

_Nanto, nanto: _whatever, whatever. Sakana tends to say it twice in a row if she really doesn't give a shit.

…_kaen-hime_, _sumimasen: _Sorry, flame princess. Sakana thought it was the medicine messing with her head when she heard that, but in reality Toshiro had said it.

_Sate, sate: _Well, well.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

(1) When I wrote this, I was thinking about Mikami from Death Note. He stabbed himself with a pen and died. xD He pulled a Mikami.


	4. Thoughts

This Light, The Will of the Heart, I See

_"No matter what the risks, please, be careful. Do not add to the suffering the Soul Society will experience." –Unohana Retsu_

**NOTE: This is the second revision of this fanfic. If you have been reading it before, ya might wanna go back through an' look through it again…**

**Inspiration: **None.

**Chapter Rating: **M

**Spoiler Warnings: **None that I can think of.

**Chapter Warnings: **LEMON! It's labeled. I rewrote it; methinks it's more awesome now…

"_These are normal thoughts."_

_**These are thoughts that Sakana sends and receives.**_

_This is one's Zanpakuto._

**Chapter 4: Thoughts**

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Feeling furious and depressed at the same time, Sakana left for Karakura Town. She needed time to think, to calm her nerves. Why did she snap at Toshiro like she did? What did Soifon mean; her hate and anger would consume her? So many questions, but so little time. All she wanted was to regain her reiryoku, get her Toshiro back, and live life as she used to; she wanted to live like a carefree captain again.

Sakana leapt from roof to roof, eventually landing on the roof of Ichigo's house. Maybe the substitute soul reaper could help her relax. Closing her eyes, she searched Ichigo's feelings and thoughts. Ichigo was pissed at his father, and exasperated on why he continued to beat on him like he did. Yuzu was trying to get her father to stop acting so crazy, and Karin was shaking her head and wondering why her father was such an idiot. Sakana grimaced; maybe hanging out with the orange-haired _daiyouhin_ wasn't the best idea. With that, she went to the outskirts of the town.

Sakana lay down on the grassy hillside and gazed up at the clouds. She and Toshiro would sometimes lie on the roof of either her or his division and gaze at the clouds in a moment of peace. Sakana closed her eyes and let the gentle breeze wash over her. Her head was silent, which was a good thing. She wouldn't have to worry about anything disrupting her mind. She opened her eyes and moved over underneath a sakura tree. As the pink petals fell, she crossed her legs, made the tora seal, (1) and closed her eyes. She had to relax.

_Yasurau_…

Sakana took a few deep breaths. She had not tried to purposely seek a specific person's thoughts, but she was going to try now. She felt at ease now, but she didn't know how this would affect it.

As she concentrated, she felt something. No, someone. There was someone in her presence. She did not open her eyes, not wanting to see who the person was. Instead, she wanted to feel. Feel their emotions and read their thoughts. When she opened her eyes, she saw no one.

"Hmm?"

Sakana tilted her head; she had felt a reiatsu, albeit an oddly familiar one. When she looked around again, she saw a fox sitting near her feet. It reminded her of Gin, one of her other close friends.

Sakana had had a hard time believing that Gin had actually defected. She knew the true Gin; he was carefree and loved to drink and party, but not too much. He was very kind and loved his division and job. However, the others never could see the true Gin. Rangiku had been the only other one besides Izuru who had not branded the taichou as sneaky and illusive. They did not know the true Gin, or the real reason behind his smile. He lived life to the fullest and laughed often.

For some odd reason, the fox reminded her of Gin.

Slowly she reached out a hand to it, and it sniffed her hand before leaping at her. Sakana did not flinch as the fox attached itself to her, nuzzling her cheek.

"You're awfully sweet. I feel as if I know you." Sakana mumbled, petting the small fox. It was very tiny, but it did not seem like a pup. The fox let out a whine and looked her in the eyes. Even the expression reminded her of Gin.

"What's with that look?" Sakana asked, laughing. The fox whined and dove into the sleeves of her Shikakushou. She giggled as he squirmed before coming out with a box of pocky. The fox whined again, nudging it with its nose.

"…Oh, alright, Gin."

The fox looked at her, head tilted to one side. Almost exactly as Gin would have done. Sakana looked at the fox, an idea accumulating in her mind. Maybe… she could find out who this fox was and why she seemed to know it. She gently reached out, putting one hand on the fox's head. The fox's thoughts were jumbled, and she could not pick out a single one. Removing her hand from the fox's head, she smiled and opened a portal back to the world of the living.

The fox looked at her, and she looked back at it. _'Take me with you,' _it seemed to say.

"sigh… fine, come on, Gin."

And with a happy squeak, the fox leapt through the portal.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Sakana made sure there was nobody lingering around the division before she stepped inside and locked the office door. She deposited Gin on the ground, and he let out a half-bark, sniffing here and there.

"Gin! Come here!" Sakana called to the fox. The office was empty, because the taichou had loaned Kaihaku to Soifon for a few weeks. Gin ran up to her and leapt into her arms. Sakana hugged the fox to her and set him on the couch.

"Sit there." She told him as she went to her desk and began working on paperwork. The fox lounged on the sofa, looking much like a cute stuffed animal.

Suddenly, her office door slammed open and Sakana jumped; she knew she had locked her door. Her mouth fell open at Toshiro standing in front of her. His white hair was slightly untidy, and he was breathing heavily.

"Hitsugaya-kun_, _you scared the hell out of me!" Sakana exclaimed.

"I'm sorry. For everything, _kaen-hime._"

This made Sakana raise an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"I'm sorry for treating you like dirt. That blow to my head… it jarred my mind a little bit. It caused me to forget you. I'm so sorry." Toshiro said, hanging his head. Sakana stood up from her desk, her pen falling from her hand. Sadness came over her, but also a feeling of relief.

"Toshiro…" she whispered. She embraced the frosty taichou, resting her head on his shoulder. Tears fell from her eyes. "My Shiro-chan…"

"My memory may leave again tomorrow…" Toshiro muttered sadly, as he returned the hug. Sakana gently squeezed Toshiro to her.

"I don't care. As long as you still love me." She whispered. Toshiro gazed into Sakana's grey eyes.

"Of course I love you. I will always love you." He said.

Sakana felt Toshiro's grip tighten slightly around her, and she accepted it. She wanted this; needed this. She had been waiting for the moment. Before, when Toshiro had been acting so irrationally, she had not been sure. She had been torn between loving him and completely abandoning him. She felt Toshiro's heart pounding in his chest, and the feeling of fleeting fear rushing through him.

Sakana wanted to banish that fear and love him.

Before, when he had been lying in the fourth division, she had not been sure. She simply thought it was the drugs making him loopy. Now, she felt his oddly warm affection and love for her. His grip warmed her, both mentally and physically.

Toshiro gently cupped the girl's cheeks in his hands, bringing their lips together in a kiss. Sakana felt the intense heat pass through them, and she kissed back, her eyes fluttering closed. The raw passion between them gave the duo comfort. Toshiro then broke the fiery kiss, and Sakana whimpered in disappointment.

"Not here."

Toshiro gently picked up his flame princess and shunpo'ed out of the office, leaving a small storm of paperwork in his wake.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Toshiro and Sakana arrived at his quarters. The rooms were slightly messy, with a few sake bottles and clothes littering the floor. However, the duo ignored the mess as Sakana kissed Toshiro again. She wanted to feel his love for her. She wanted the moment to last, for she had no idea how long it would last. Toshiro gently pushed Sakana onto his bed, landing on top of her. Their kiss deepened, the lust they shared racing through them. Toshiro broke the kiss once again, looking into Sakana's still grey eyes. Their color had started to return, but not by much.

"Sakana, if you don't want to… I'll understand…"

Sakana smiled at the frosty captain, knowing that Toshiro was still a little hesitant. She knew that he was worried that if they did, his memories would suddenly leave him again. She pulled him down for another kiss.

"Iie. I want this."

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-****Warning! Lemon Begins Here!-****X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Toshiro's lips moved to her collarbone, leaving an almost burning sensation as he kissed her delicate skin. Sakana shuddered from the feeling of Toshiro's tongue licking her smooth skin. She gripped Toshiro's shoulders, her breathing becoming shallow. Toshiro knew it was not from pain; her breathing was much different from when she was injured or ill. Excitement filled him as he licked a part on her neck that caused her breath to hitch. Her heart began to beat faster, and her eyes flickered. Toshiro knew that was a good response, and licked it again, causing Sakana to let out a soft squeak. At this, he chuckled; he had never heard her make such an adorable noise before. Toshiro gently sat Sakana up and pulled off her haori, throwing it somewhere in the room.

Toshiro's smooth hands ran down the front of her Shikakushou, but Sakana did not notice. He was keeping her busy by kissing her eyelids and her neck. Toshiro managed to pull off the top and bra and threw that too in a random direction. His lips moved down and kissed her neck.

"You're beautiful."

Sakana flushed. Toshiro had always admired her beauty; she always knew that. However, he had never said it out loud before. Toshiro made his way down to her breasts, licking one while massaging the other. Sakana's breath hitched again, and Toshiro smirked.

"Just let it all out, kaen-hime…"

As Toshiro licked her breast, Sakana arched her back. The feeling was incredible; she felt the heat from Toshiro's lips and she shuddered in pleasure again. It all just felt right. Her hands clasped the sky blue sheets as Toshiro continued his administrations. As one hand reached to pull them into another blinding kiss, the other brushed against the inside of her legs, causing her to jump slightly with another soft squeak.

"Heh…"

Sakana attempted to glare at him through lust-filled eyes, but failed. "What's so funny?"

"For as long as I have known you, you have never made a sound like that."

Sakana flushed. "So?"

"I think it's cute."

Sakana let out a growl, which did not sound too much like a growl at all.

"I'll make you eat those words."

Toshiro smirked and brushed his hand over the extremely sensitive area, and Sakana let out a squeal at the act. She bit her lip as Toshiro kissed her again, undoing the pale orange waistband.

"Don't hold back, kaen-hime."

Sakana felt so giddy. As his affection surrounded her, he pulled off the pants, leaving Sakana open to his touch. Sakana pulled at his waistband and he allowed her to undress him.

As soon as the offending garments were off, Toshiro went to work. As they took pleasure in the feeling of their hot skin touching each other, Toshiro continued to explore her body. He brushed his hand across her stomach, and she twitched, biting her lip. A smirk crossed his face, and he licked her abdomen, causing her to lurch.

"You're ticklish?" Toshiro smirked, licking her toned stomach again, and she twitched again, almost drawing blood from biting her lip too hard.

"Don't… tell anyone…"

Sakana moaned as Toshiro's hands once again rubbed that [extremely] sensitive area, her arms wrapped around his neck. Toshiro kissed Sakana's lips lightly before moving his attention downwards. Sakana jumped a little at Toshiro's breath on her opening, but that feeling was nothing compared to the feeling she got when Toshiro licked her opening. His cold breath left a tingling sensation that she absolutely loved.

"…To…shiro…"

Smirking, he held her legs down to prevent the writhing body from kicking him as he did his work. Her entire body was flushed and her body trembled with pleasure as Toshiro licked the inside of her leg.

"Ah! Shiro…"

Toshiro felt his breath become more ragged at the sight of the body writhing beneath him. The sounds she was making was like nothing he had ever heard before, and it was music to his ears. Her hands were clenched in his snowy white hair, but he did not care at all. He inserted his tongue into her opening, and her hips bucked up, wanting more of the sensation.

"…shiro…"

Toshiro felt his erection get harder at the sounds Sakana was making. He kissed Sakana again.

"If you want to stop, I will."

"…keep going… yuki-ouji…"

Toshiro smiled at his flame princess's pet name for him and spread her legs wide, leaning in. Sakana's hair was plastered everywhere and she was panting for air. She was very aware of what he was going to do, but she wanted it.

"Just relax."

Sakana nodded, her eyes closed. Toshiro then slowly and carefully thrust into her. Her nails dug into his arms, but he did not even notice nor care. Sakana's heat surrounded him, and he felt blissful. She felt so hot, so very hot, and it felt wonderful. Sakana was tense at first, but almost immediately relaxed. As soon as she was fully relaxed, he thrust all the way into her, causing her to bite her lip and moan out through her teeth.

"Breathe, sweetie. In, out."

Sakana let out a shaky laugh before taking a deep breath and forcing her body to relax and become accustomed. Toshiro did not want to hurt her, so he let her adjust to the intrusion. After a few moments, Sakana's breath returned to a form of regularity.

"…Go…"

Toshiro began to slowly move in and out of her. Soon enough her hips started to buck with his thrusting, and he moved faster.

"Ah… Sakana… you…"

Toshiro couldn't describe what he was feeling; not in a complete sentence, anyway. He plunged into Sakana, making her let out a cry that he had never heard before.

"Aagh! Shit…"

Toshiro smirked; he had found her special spot and continued to thrust against it, making her svelte body tighten around his length. He pushed against it, making her moan.

"To…mmgh… Shiro…"

Toshiro groaned. Every time he hit her special spot, her body squeezed around his length, making the cycle all the more pleasurable. The heat from her body flooded into him, and he began to thrust faster and harder into the writhing body beneath him. She wrapped her legs around him. Her chest heaved, trying to gather much needed air as her head tossed back and forth, her eyes squeezed shut and her body shuddering in pleasure.

"Toshiro… I… oh… god…"

"Just… hang… on…"

Sakana knew she was nearing her climax, and would not be able to hold out any longer. Toshiro continued to hit the spot as he licked her chest. She was quite sure she would melt into a puddle from the sensations she was getting, both physically and mentally. Mentally, she felt extremely drunk.

"Aaah… Toshiro… Nngghh…"

With one last thrust, Sakana screamed Toshiro's name to the heavens as she came. Sakana's cry brought Toshiro over the edge and he came inside of her, shouting his lover's name.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X****-Lemon Ends Here!-**** X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

It took a moment for them to come to their senses (lol, pun), but when they did, Toshiro shifted Sakana so he was on his back and Sakana was neatly settled against his chest. Sakana inhaled Toshiro's intoxicating scent and noticed something she had never noticed before.

"Did you know you smell like mint and evergreen?"

Toshiro gently kissed Sakana's forehead.

"I know Ara said something about every person having their own personal scent. You smell nice; like ink and primroses." He responded. Sakana felt drunk again; he felt nothing but love and compassion towards her. It was making her feel safe and comfortable and… stronger. When they came together, it felt like their reiryoku was mixing with one another, fueling each other. It almost felt like her reiryoku was returning. She felt a lot stronger than she had felt in a while. Was this how she regained her reiryoku?

"Sakana…"

"_Un_?" Sakana asked, gazing at Toshiro through exhausted eyes. She wanted to fall asleep right here and right now.

"A-are you okay? I mean, with your reiryoku and all." He asked, concerned. Sakana smiled and kissed his nose.

"Never felt better." She whispered. The duo fell asleep, his arms wrapped protectively around her.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Sakana didn't know how long she slept, but she woke up feeling slightly stiff. Well, it could not be slightly. She felt very stiff. She had a headache, and wondered for a moment if she had a hangover, because it certainly felt like it. She shifted slightly and bumped against something warm.

It all came back to her.

She blushed slightly and looked at Toshiro. His snow white hair was a huge mess on his head. He looked so peaceful and serene sleeping. Sakana smiled and gently kissed his nose, and he wrinkled his nose and sneezed. Sakana gently lifted his arm off of her and slipped out from underneath it. Toshiro didn't stir or wake up, which was good for the taichou. She quietly got dressed and slipped out the door, leaving her lover in his slumber.

It was very late, maybe one or two in the morning. Sakana quietly jumped up to her window and opened it a crack, just enough to slip inside. She got inside and closed the window, pausing to listen for any indication that Hana had woken up. Perfect. No one had noticed her. As she tip-toed away from the window, the taichou was startled when the light flickered on.

"HOLYFUCKONASTICKWHOTHEHELLISTHATI'LLFUCKINGKILLYOUBASTARD!" Sakana screeched, alarmed. Hana and Amaya had waited for her all night, and were sitting in her room, waiting for her return.

"Um… hi you guys!" Sakana said, after calming herself.

"Where have you been?" Hana asked, giving Sakana a severe stare. Sakana didn't turn red, but stared back. She could sense the anger and worry coming from her two friends. Shit, she was in a load of trouble. After all, she did suddenly leave the office before completing all of the paperwork for that day.

"…I was out drinking." Sakana said. That was partially true. She certainly had felt drunk, that was for sure. She felt absolutely wasted.

_**She doesn't smell of alcohol.**_ Hikari growled, bushy collie tail aloft. Sakana began to sweat. Could she share what had happened with them? Not very likely. Only one person should really know. Actually, one person, and a Zanpakuto spirit.

"We know you haven't been out drinking. You've been gone since six. It seemed like you left your office in a hurry." Amaya said. Sakana began to sweat. Shit, they were on to her. There were only two options: she could either tell them what she did or run. The latter sounded like the better idea.

"Hey, I need to use the bathroom…" Sakana jerked a thumb towards the door. The two Shinigami looked at each other and nodded. "Thanks." Sakana said, letting a feeling of relief wash over them. She turned and ran to the bathroom, muttering something about having one too many drinks.

After ten minutes, however, the two sensed something was wrong.

"Sakana? Are you okay in there?" Amaya shouted, banging on the door. there was no response. Amaya kicked the door down and the two cursed.

Sakana had used the bathroom as a means to escape. The window was wide open, the curtains blowing in the breeze.

"I'll kill her, that _subeta_!" Amaya shouted.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Sakana was leaping from roof to roof, a small frown on her face. She really hated to trick her friends, but what had happened had to stay a secret. She shunpo'ed to the fourth division, landing on Unohana's balcony. She could faintly read Unohana's thoughts; the taichou was awake. She quietly knocked on the door, and Unohana opened it.

"Sakana-chan? What are you doing here?" Unohana asked, surprised. Sakana bowed her head slightly.

"I'm sorry for bothering you so late, but there's something I need to talk to you about." Sakana said, a little breathless. It almost hurt to move; she was still stiff from the… activity that she had engaged in. Unohana moved back and let Sakana into her quarters.

"Retsu…"

"Hmm?"

"Please, promise me that what we state in this room will not leave this room." Sakana said, a pleading tone in her voice. Unohana smiled and nodded.

"Whatever you say is safe with me." Unohana said, motioning to sit down.

Sakana then explained what had happened only a few hours ago, and how she felt her reiryoku return much faster because of it. She also told her about Toshiro's memory returning for that night. Unohana didn't interrupt her, but nodded her head every now and then.

"…so Amaya and Hana are really pissed for me taking off with him like that." Sakana finished, "I returned back home only to find them waiting for me, so I fled here."

"Hm… I'm not quite sure, but maybe engaging in that kind of activity with him may be good for you. He's giving you some of his reiryoku when you come together. Can you still read thoughts?" Unohana asked. Sakana shrugged.

"I don't know, I've never tried to purposely read someone's thoughts and feelings before. Most of the time it just comes to me on its own." Sakana said. Retsu gently laid her hand on the flame taichou's arm.

"Just try."

Sakana closed her eyes and sought out Unohana's reiatsu. It was getting easier for her to detect reiatsu, now. She could faintly hear Unohana's thoughts. She reached out to them, only for them to fade away. She opened her eyes again and shrugged.

"It's really faint now. I can barely hear it."

Unohana smiled. "That must mean your powers are returning. Maybe within a week or so you'll be back to your full power." She said. Sakana grinned a big grin.

"Now, about Toshiro's memory…"

"I think we will have to wait for it to return fully on its own. I can recommend that you two spend more time together…"

"The other Toshiro hates me." Sakana said, sulking slightly.

"I think I have an idea that may work." Unohana said. Sakana and Unohana stood, and Sakana hugged her gently.

"Thanks, Retsu." She said, leaping out of the healer's window and disappearing into the night.

Sakana entered her house through the window again, only to meet an extremely pissed Amaya.

"Get the hell over here." Amaya growled, grabbing Sakana by her ear. She dragged her out of her house, even though all Sakana wanted to do was take a hot bath and sleep. Sakana was dragged all the way to their old hideout in the corner of the 14th division, where she finally let go of Sakana's ear.

"What the hell was that about?" Sakana grumbled, rubbing her ear.

"You slept with Toshiro, didn't you?"

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

**Translations and Stuff Like That**

_Daiyouhin: _Substitute.

_Yasurau: _to relax.

_kaen-hime: _flame princess.

_Un_: Yeah. (Think: Deidara from Naruto)

_Shikakushou: _Shinigami uniform.

_Subeta: _bitch. Amaya tends to call Sakana that when she's extremely pissed at her.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

(1) The tora seal is the tiger seal. You know that hand sign that Shikamaru from Naruto makes? Yeah. That's the tiger seal too.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Note: This chapter was almost 5000 words with the long summary in it. Good thing I deleted it, or I would have died. xD


	5. Revealed

This Light, the Will of the Heart, I See

_"I'm going to kill the bastard that betrayed us. The bastard who is my so-called father, Sosuke Aizen." –Aizen "Higashi" Amaya_

**NOTE: This is the second revision of this fanfic. If you have been reading it before, ya might wanna go back through an' look through it again…**

**Inspiration: **My friend Mandi and her dyslexia (condensation and condoms, lol), Beauty and the Beast by Nightwish (best band evah!)

**Chapter Rating: **PG-15 for language.

**Spoiler Warnings: **None that I can think of.

**Chapter Warnings: **Language and mentions of condoms xD

"_These are normal thoughts."_

_**These are thoughts that Sakana sends and receives.**_

_This is one's Zanpakuto._

**Chapter 5: Revealed**

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

"So? You did, didn't you?"

Shit. Shit shit shit. If Amaya knew, it would not stay silent. By morning the whole Seireitei would know. Sakana averted her gaze and looked at her feet.

"…I Plead the fifth."'

"I AM the fifth. (Dun own that joke: I stole that from Kaori's Naruto Shinobi's guide fanfic) Now tell me. Did you or did you not sleep with Toshiro?" Amaya snapped. Sakana shuffled her feet, her face slowly turning red.

"…Um…well… _hai…_" Sakana said softly. Amaya gasped.

"What? But I thought he lost his memory?!" she exclaimed. Sakana turned an unnatural shade of red.

"…I can't go into detail about it, Amaya." She said. Amaya grabbed Sakana by the front of her Shinigami uniform.

"Why can't you admit anything to your own friend?" She snarled, and for the first time, Sakana felt truly afraid. When Amaya threatened her before, it didn't really bother her. She simply accepted her old vice-captain's abuse. But now… she felt her resolve breaking.

"Amaya… There's a reason I can't tell you. I'll tell you later." Sakana said, brushing her hand off and shunpo'ing away. Amaya stood there, a frown present on her face.

"Sakana… this isn't like you…"

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Later, when Sakana woke up, she felt stiff. She stretched and yawned, still not fully rested. She took a much-needed shower (every time she was about to shower she was interrupted; she was determined to finally take a shower) and left for the captain's meeting.

At the meeting, Shunsui greeted his daughter with a tackle glomp. Sakana yelped as the full weight of her father landed on her. She still must have been exhausted from last night; she didn't even sense his reiatsu coming up behind her.

"Shunsui, what the hell?!" She shouted, making failed attempts at pushing Shunsui off of her.

"I heard you weren't feeling well, so I thought a hug was in order, kawaii _musume!_" Shunsui said. Sakana sighed and stopped flailing about, allowing Shunsui to pick her up and hug her. When Sakana was finally released, she looked at Toshiro. He seemed to be angrier than usual. He caught her gaze and stalked over to her.

"What the hell were you doing at my house last night?" he asked. Sakana blinked in mock confusion.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Sakana replied flatly, her heart aching. She hated to talk to him like this, because it tormented her; no wonder his house was a mess…

"Then explain this!" Toshiro snarled, throwing something at her feet. Sakana recognized it as her taichou haori. She tried to remember; had she really left it at his house? She had remembered throwing on her clothes, but not her taichou haori. She cursed herself for being so careless. She wordlessly picked up her haori, brushed some dirt off of it, and donned it again. She turned and began walking back to her spot; when Sakana was sleep deprived, something (most likely a building) would be incinerated, so she wasn't in the mood to fight now. She had almost reached her spot when she felt the air behind her drop ten degrees. Sakana growled in the back of her throat and turned around to greet Toshiro's sword at her face.

"Tell me. What the fuck were you doing at my house?" Toshiro growled. Sakana noticed that the edges of his reiatsu were black. Soifon's warning came back to the forefront of her mind, and she knew what she had to do.

She had to restore Toshiro's memory, or the black reiatsu would take over.

"Toshiro," she pleaded, backing away from him, "Don't. You can't release your Zanpakuto here."

"Then tell me what you were doing!" Toshiro roared, lunging forward. Sakana backpedaled, tripped, and fell backwards. She got back up and began running.

She knew she couldn't outrun him forever. He would eventually catch up to her, and it would be over. He would kill her. He wouldn't hesitate now. He had reason.

She felt his icy reiatsu behind her, and she sped up. She mentally calculated her chances. She would have to shunpo somewhere that she normally wouldn't go. Setting her destination, she disappeared into thin air. Toshiro growled, and followed the fiery taichou.

Sakana knew Toshiro was following her. She started as she felt the rush of air from Toshiro's Zanpakuto behind her. Sakana felt exhaust tugging at her, and knew that she wouldn't last much longer. She had to stop this.

Sakana stumbled over her own feet and went down. The flame captain watched in horror as Toshiro's Zanpakuto lunged for her heart. She closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable to happen. It was over.

…

Sakana flinched as she heard metal hit metal. Opening one eye slightly she saw Ukitake with his Zanpakuto drawn, blocking Toshiro's own sword. Sakana was frozen as Ukitake managed to get Toshiro to back off.

"I'm sorry. I was dropping off some sweets and I had Sakana's haori with me, because she left it at her desk. I must have dropped it." Ukitake apologized. Sakana's eyes widened.

"_He's taking the blame…," _she thought, her racing heart slowing slightly.

"Humph." Toshiro snorted, sheathing his Zanpakuto and shunpo'ing away. Sakana relaxed slightly and fell back on her back with a thump.

"Are you okay, Sakana-chan?" Ukitake asked. Sakana sat up and grimaced.

"He attacked me…" she mumbled.

"Huh?"

"He attacked me… without even a second thought. Didn't even hesitate. Didn't care…" Sakana said. Her entire body was shivering. Juushiro helped her to her feet and gently hugged her.

"It's okay. It's not your fault, nor his."

"Wait… you know what happened?!" Sakana exclaimed, her face turning a bright shade of red as she subconsciously read the thoughts in Juushiro's mind.

"I know what conspired between you two, yes. Don't worry, I won't tell." Juushiro said, smiling. Sakana heaved a sigh of relief.

"Thank you."

"Now, let's get to the meeting." Juushiro said gently. The two taichou then left for the meeting once more.

When they arrived, Amaya had picked up Sakana's cloak and dusted it off for her. Sakana took the cloak from Amaya with thanks and donned it before she stood back in her spot next to Unohana.

"Erhem!" Yamamoto said, and everyone went quiet.

"There has been hollow activity in the northern section of Karakura town. We think it's the work of Aizen. Kurosaki-san even said himself that they are quite a handful. After careful consideration—" here he looked at Unohana and Ukitake,"—we have decided that Hitsugaya-taichou and Satoshi-taichou will be assigned to that area."

"_**NANI?!**_" Toshiro roared, extremely pissed. Sakana could feel his rage, and she growled a little bit in the back of her throat. It wasn't like she liked it, either. Not like this… Toshiro was too irritable. No… she just couldn't deal with it at the moment.

But this was the conclusion they had to come to.

"You will complete this mission." Yamamoto said, glaring at the two. Sakana sighed and gazed levelly back at the soutaichou.

"When will we leave?"

"You will be leaving tomorrow morning. Prepare yourselves tonight." Yamamoto said, "You all are dismissed."

Toshiro was the first to leave, shunpo'ing angrily out the door. Sakana yawned hugely, rubbing her eyes. She was still tired from last night. She was even more exhausted than when she had to pull an all-nighter doing paperwork. She plodded out of the meeting hall and slowly began meander her way back to her division.

Her senses destabilized from exhaustion, she didn't sense Amaya running after her. The taichou felt a hand on her shoulder, and she freaked out.

"GAAH!" she shouted, accidentally firing a _**Shakkahou **__**at her. Amaya dodged it and it hit a tree.**_

"_**Oh, Amaya-chan, I'm so sorry!" Sakana exclaimed, making sure her friend was alright.**_

"_**Whoa. Well, you seem a lot better, spiritual power-wise anyways." Amaya said, running a hand through her bright orange hair.**_

"_**huh? Whaddya mean?" the shorter taichou asked, cocking her head to the side.**_

"_**Well, a couple of days ago you wouldn't be able to do that." Amaya commented wryly. Sakana snorted.**_

"_**Yeah, I guess so. So, why'd you sneak up on me anyways?" Sakana asked, praying to Cheezuz (1) that Amaya didn't want to talk about last night.**_

"_**I wanted to give you this." Amaya said in a serious tone (ish), handing Sakana a small box, Perplexed, the taichou shook the box, hoping to hear what was inside of it. Then she tried to read Amaya's thoughts; it was relatively easy, unlike trying to read Unohana's thoughts. But Amaya didn't leave any clues to what was in the package.**_

"_**Go ahead, open it. It's not going to kill you." Amaya said. As Sakana [doubtfully] opened the box, a smile grew on Amaya's face.**_

"…_**O.O AMAYA! WHAT THE HELL?!"**_

_**Amaya fell over laughing. "I'm sorry! Unohana had me do it!" Amaya laughed, tears streaming down her face. Sakana growled and searched for Unohana. She felt apology coming from Unohana, and she calmed down, but only a smidgen.**_

"_**I'm sorry, Sakana-san, but I had to see if someone can block your ability to read thoughts. It seems possible." Unohana said. Sakana relaxed, but still glared at Amaya.**_

"_**But why a box of condoms?" Sakana said in her dangerously soft voice that usually came before a spazz and then a coughing attack.**_

"_**That was Amaya-san's idea." Unohana admitted. Amaya herself was still rolling on the ground laughing. Sakana threw the box of condoms at Amaya's head and shunpo'ed off, most likely to think of ways to kill her friend.**_

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

_**With Hana off on a date with Kuchiki-sama (2), the house was quiet. Sakana sighed and lay back on her bed. Just this time last night she had been making love with Toshiro, and now a yearning gnawed at her insides. She needed him, but she couldn't go to him, because he would need rest for the next day as well. It was going to be tough on both of them to be as close as they would be, but they would have to pull through. Sakana closed her eyes, exhaust pulling at her, drawing her into sleep. Hopefully she could get a good night's rest…**_

"_**Psst! Sakana?"**_

_**Sakana opened one eye, drowsily looking at whoever called her name.**_

"…_**Toshiro?"  
**_

_**Toshiro smiled, "Oh, did I wake you?" **_

_**Toshiro gently laid a hand on Sakana's. Sakana's skin felt flushed to him; was it because of him? He felt Sakana shiver against his hand.**_

"_**Naw, I was just about to fall asleep though. Your hands are cold, Shiro-chan." She murmured. Toshiro shrugged in apology, climbing in all the way through the open window and next to Sakana. **_

"_**I'm sorry."**_

_**Sakana snuggled against his chest as he gently stroked her back and hair. Suddenly he let out a small chuckle.**_

"_**What's so funny?" Sakana asked.**_

"_**I don't know why but… I think I heard your thoughts. Something about Amaya and a box of condoms…" he muttered, kissing Sakana on the top of her head. Sakana grumbled, but remained still.**_

"_**Are you feeling alright? You feel really warm." Toshiro said. It was a statement, not a protest. Sakana loved the feeling of Toshiro's cold hands on her back, and Toshiro loved the feeling of her hot body against his.**_

_**Sakana wished the moment could last forever.**_

_**They were together, his arms wrapped around her in a protective way. The sun was setting, casting orange and red rays of light onto the couple. Toshiro gazed at Sakana's face; it was filled with serenity and peace, like he wanted. He did not want her to be in pain. He did not want the moments they shared together to be ruined by something such as that. He gently kissed Sakana's eyelids, and her eyes flickered at the sensitive touch.**_

_**He did not want this perfect moment to end, either. **_

_**However, end it had to.**_

"_**You should go back." Sakana murmured, "And get some rest. You're gonna need it for tomorrow." **_

_**Toshiro mused. "Hm, maybe I should… but I want to stay with you."**_

_**Sakana gave him a "you had better go" look. Toshiro sighed and kissed his Sakana on top of her head.**_

"_**Alright. I guess… I'll see you tomorrow…ish." The snowy soul reaper said, opening Sakana's window and jumping out. Sakana watched him leap over the rooftops and disappear. As soon as Toshiro disappeared, Sakana began to feel lonely. But she needed to get him to get rest.**_

_**They certainly were going to need it for tomorrow.**_

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

_**Translations and Kuso Like That:**_

_**NANI?!**__** WHAT?! Toshiro is very outraged.**_

_**Shakkahou: **__**That attack of a red blast of fire. Yeah. That.**_

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

_**1) Cheezuz is the god of my friend's weird religion. When you die, you either go to her rendition of heaven, or her rendition of hell, which is the fondue pot. Mmm, fondue… (drool)**_

_**2) My friend named one of her stuffed animals Kuchiki sama, and ever since then I can't call him Byakuya out loud anymore.**_

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

_**Wow, this chapter is shorter. **_

_**--MattsyKun the Epic Fail Alchemist**_


	6. One

This Light, the Will of the Heart, I See

_"…" –Kuchiki Byakuya_

**NOTE: This is the second revision of this fanfic. If you have been reading it before, ya might wanna go back through an' look through it again… This chapter has pretty much been completely changed.**

**Inspiration: **None.

**Chapter Rating: **PG-17

**Spoiler Warnings: **None that I can think of.

**Chapter Warnings: **Mature themes. No lemon; dun feel like writing one.

"_These are normal thoughts."_

_Note: Some Japanese words may be in italics._

_**These are thoughts Sakana receives. "This is stuff she sends."**_

"_This is one's Zanpakuto."_

**Chapter 6: One**

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Sakana's eyes flickered and she burrowed back down into the blankets. Sunlight was streaming in from her window, blinding her. She stretched and yawned, not wanting to escape the alcove of warm covers.

Then she shot up straight.

Alarmed, she looked at her clock. It was 10 am! She was thirty minutes late to leaving for the world of the living! Sakana threw the blankets off of her, leapt out of bed, and raced to the bathroom. Her hair was an absolute mess. She picked up Hana's brush and ran it through her hair, wincing as she roughly brushed through tangles. She then ran back to her bedroom, dove into the closet, and came out fully dressed (SHE DID NOT COME OUT OF THE CLOSET XP). Then she grabbed her Zanpakuto, hurdled down the stairs, almost trampled Hana into the floor in her haste, and out the door.

She decided to take a shortcut through the Seireitei and got to the gate in a few minutes. Toshiro was there, tapping his foot impatiently with a pissed look on his face.

"Where were you?" he growled, and Sakana had to resist the urge to punch him in the face. She probably would have if Soifon hadn't come up at that moment.

"Are you two ready?" Soifon asked. Toshiro nodded and stalked through the gate. Sakana sighed and followed him.

As they stepped into the world of the living, Ichigo was there to greet them. His neon orange hair (okay, maybe that was exaggerating a little) was disheveled, and he looked exhausted.

"Toshiro, Sakana." He acknowledged them.

"That's Hitsugaya-taichou to you, Kurosaki-teme." Toshiro shot back. Sakana flinched slightly and nodded to the tired substitute Shinigami.

"So, what's up with these hollows?"

Ichigo scratched his head, "My god, they're tough. I chop of a limb, it grows back. Chop of their head, it grows back. Chop them into one-inch cubes, they frickin' come back! Agh!" Ichigo shouted, frustrated, "It's like they're immortal!"

Sakana groaned; this mission was going to be harder than they thought. "Have you tried burning them?"

Ichigo stopped his spazz and blinked. "No…"

Toshiro snorted, "Dumbass."

Sakana spun around and brought the sheath of her Zanpakuto down on Toshiro's head. "Cut it out." She snarled.

"Well, where are they? I'm itching for a fight." Sakana said. Ichigo pointed over the hill they were at.

"Over that hill. Good luck; you're gonna need it." Ichigo said, leaning against Zangetsu. Toshiro and Sakana both went over the snow-covered hill and stared at the masses below.

There must have been thousands of hollows. Big ones, little ones, Menos, Vasto Lordes, all with a dangerous reiatsu. Sakana took a step back in surprise, and Toshiro looked at her.

"What, is it too much for you? You can always go back home." Toshiro sneered. Sakana glared at Toshiro but otherwise ignored the comment.

"Me and Rukia figured they must be guarding something." Ichigo said from behind them, "See there? That red thing, looks like a rock? I wonder what it is, but we can't even get close to it. Whenever we even try to head in that direction, they really start to be a pain in the ass."

"Where is Rukia?" Sakana wondered, looking around for the Kuchiki.

"She's down there, fighting." Ichigo said. He was proved correct when they saw a column of ice rise up. Sakana yawned and rubbed her eyes as Toshiro took off, drawing his Zanpakuto.

"Souten Ni Zase! Hyorinmaru!" Toshiro shouted. He swung his Zanpakuto and a blue and slightly black ice dragon emerged from it and ran through a few hollows. Sakana drew her Zanpakuto and focused on her reiryoku. She knew she wasn't healed enough to wield her Zanpakuto, but maybe…

"…_Honouten_…" Sakana started. What happened surprised her.

A flame dragon came from her Zanpakuto, but it seemed less controlled than before. A lot weaker, actually. But it still worked. That kind of shocked her; wasn't her reiryoku still drained?

"…What the hell?" she said softly.

"_I'm back."_

Sakana blinked. "Kaenrinmaru??"

"_I guess since you've somewhat regained your reiryoku, I should tell you what's going on. About everything that's happening today."_

Sakana was terribly confused. "Wait, HUH? What's going on?"

Toshiro soared past, Zanpakuto freezing anything in his path. "Get moving, _Satoshi-subeta_! Move if you don't want to be killed!"

"Okay, do tell." Sakana growled, ignoring the frosty taichou.

"_I'm going to monologue for a little while, so pay attention._

"_Back when your father was just learning about the Soul Society, my wielder was a youthful man by the name of Enkou Sentaishi. Yes, he was the father of Hana. He was a powerful Shinigami, almost on par with Yamamoto at the time. He was the captain of the 8__th__ division, and a smart one, too. He was kind and cared for his division._

"_One day, the current soutaichou gave them a mission. There was a pretty freaky hollow on the loose in the world of the living. He gave Enkou a mission to kill this hollow. Reports from the Shinigami stationed at Karakura at the time said it looked like a fox with nine tails._

"_So Enkou accepted this mission and went to the world of the living. He took only a few members of his squad with him, but they were the strongest. And he faced this terrifying nine-tailed kitsune hollow. The battle raged on for hours, until Enkou finally realized that it was impossible to kill the hollow. The man did the only thing he could; seal the kitsune hollow away."_

"So he sealed it inside of you?" Sakana asked, firing a Hado at a hollow. The hollow exploded into flames and died.

"_Yes. I was the one who suggested it, however. He was very reluctant to seal that hollow inside of me. But before he sealed it inside of me, the kitsune hollow dealt a final blow. He only managed to seal the hollow away because I forced some of my energy into him. _

"_After Enkou died, I was placed in a sealed room, supposedly to never be wielded again. Over the years, the hollow's soul molded with my own, but I soon gained dominance over it. But after, oh, 2000 years or something like that, I was unsealed and taken from the room. I was surprised; why would I be freed after so long? Then I heard your father's voice. He was talking to Ukitake-san about a prophecy."_

"I think I know what prophecy you're talking about," Sakana said, swinging Kaenrinmaru and incinerating a dozen more hollows, "Isn't it the one that says a child born of a noble and a commoner would wield the hollow Zanpakuto and either save humanity or destroy it?"

Then Sakana stopped.

"Wait… that child was me?"

"_Is you."_ Kaenrinmaru corrected, _"But yes. The prophecy actually said the first-born child of a noble and a commoner would wield the hollow Zanpakuto. Shunsui and Matsuri had already had your brother, Konosuke. They thought the prophecy meant him, but they were wrong. When they had you, I was taken out again. Do you remember when you were little; you used to have dreams about a fiery red dragon that looked somewhat like a hollow, soaring across the sky?"_

Sakana nodded, "Yeah. I always thought I was going crazy then. Then later, I always thought I was dreaming about my Zanpakuto."

"_That dragon was me; my true form. You are the child of the prophecy. Well, since we're on the subject, I might as well tell you the full prophecy. It goes like this:_

"_The first-born child of a koushouna and a heimin would wield the hollow sword. This child will have kanjouinyuu and seishinkanno, and will have a love of the opposite element. This child and the child's love will have the power to either save all of humanity, in both the Soul Society and the world of the living, or destroy it and bring chaos to the world. The child and the child's love will gain something precious before heading for their final fate. Pretty complicated, but everything fits. You are the child of that prophecy, and you must fulfill it before it's too late. I am a hollow Zanpakuto; the only one if its kind._

Toshiro was fighting off a rather large hollow when he saw Sakana standing there, eyes closed.

"BAKA! Don't just stand there, do something!" he roared at the other taichou.

"_Honouten ni Umuranzatsu__. Kaenrinmaru."_

A giant dragon once again emerged from Sakana's Zanpakuto in a much more controlled form and incinerated the hollow that Toshiro had been struggling against. Toshiro blinked at the girl, who seemed to have a more determined face. Something in Toshiro's mind stirred, and he gazed on at the girl.

His Sakana.

Sakana tore through more hollows, determined to put a stop to the attacks. She killed a very ruthless hollow before sensing an oh-so-familiar reiatsu.

"Gin?!"

She saw him, standing over the egg, smirking at her. Confused yet enraged, she leapt at the "traitor".

"Ikorose, Shinsou."

The short Zanpakuto grew and would have impaled Sakana if she had not shunpo'ed out of the way. Sakana fell to one knee afterwards; using shunpo was something that took up too much of her energy at this point.

"Gin, it's me!"

Gin looked at Sakana, a frown present on his face. Sakana looked pleadingly at him. She knew he wasn't a traitor.

Was he?

"…Sakana, I…"

Sakana suddenly realized what was wrong.

"You're being controlled by Aizen, aren't you?"

Sakana hit the nail on the head. Gin's body shook once before he regained his composure.

"Sakana, ya have ta stop 'im… urgh!"

Gin knelt on the ground, clutching his head and crying out in pain. Sakana almost broke down right there and then. She had been right all along; Gin wasn't a traitor. He had been put under Aizen's spell.

"Gwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

As Toshiro pulled Sakana back into the Soul Society, Gin's cry rang in her ears. But that would soon be drowned out by Toshiro's compassionate feelings for her.

The Ice Prince won every time.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

As they reached the first division about an hour later, they noticed Yamamoto standing outside. Toshiro put Sakana down and bowed to the Soutaichou.

"Hm. I see you have returned. Was the mission successful? The old man said. Toshiro nodded, not wanting to let the soutaichou know where they had been relaxing for the past thirty minutes.

"Hai."

"Satoshi-taichou, how do you feel?" Yamamoto asked, noticing the slightly distressed look on her face. Well, the head captain read it as distressed; Toshiro read it much differently.

Sakana shrugged. She wasn't about to admit that she felt a little… well… turned on. Toshiro had made her body temperature go up a few degrees. His lips on her skin made her want him right then and there, but having sex in the third division garden wasn't the best of ideas.

"Well, seeing as you've been through all of this trouble, I'm going to give you a month or two off. You both need to rest after all of that mayhem." Yamamoto said. Sakana grinned; that had just made her day.

"Okay!" she said cheerfully. Toshiro smiled at his love's exuberance.

A few months with just the two of them? Perfect.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Toshiro and Sakana stopped in front of the small house they would be living in for the next few months. Sakana opened the door and put the rest of her belongings on the floor.

It was a house the size of Sakana's, except it was only one floor. The bedroom was the size of Toshiro's office. There was a kitchen, living room, and den. Toshiro hung his coat up in the closet and brushed the snow out of his hair. Sakana was startled as Toshiro picked her up and carried her to the living room, where he laid her on the couch.

"T-Toshiro!" Sakana stammered, surprised. Toshiro got on top of her and kissed her lips. Sakana waited for him to enter her mouth, but he left too quickly.

"Stay there." Toshiro whispered, getting off of the couch and disappearing to a different room, leaving Sakana lying on the couch. She sat up slightly and tried to get a feel for what he was doing. All she could read was a slight mischievous feeling; his thoughts were well-guarded against her.

_**Don't even try it, my kaen-hime.**_

Sakana started a little and blushed. How did he know she was trying to read his mind? She quit and lay patiently on the couch. She heard the faint sound of running water for a moment before it stopped. Toshiro then returned to the living room and smiled at his love in a naughty way. The empathic/telepathic taichou once again tried to read his thoughts, and this time she got something.

_**Run.**_

Sakana left her gigai and took off, fleeing out of the door. Toshiro licked his lips and followed suit, hungry for a chase.

They had done it before. Sometimes Sakana would just be walking through the Seireitei when she would hear him shout "Run!" at the top of his lungs. She would run off and he would follow her, chasing her through the Seireitei. He would eventually catch her, and she would owe him something, mostly dinner. But now he was hungry for something else.

Sakana did not allow her mind to drift as she ran away. Using her telepathic abilities, she listened to the thoughts of everything around her. She figured out that Toshiro had set up a bath for the two of them, and he was driving her towards it. Apparently there was a small _yokujou_ not too far away from their house. Sakana shunpo'ed there, making sure she got there in plenty of time to surprise Toshiro.

Toshiro smiled as Sakana headed towards the bathhouse. He skidded to a stop in front and opened the door only to be hit with a face full of steam.

"Ouch!" Toshiro exclaimed, closing his eyes. He heard Sakana giggle and he blindly and slowly walked into the yokujou. The snowy taichou took seven steps inside the bathhouse and fell into the hot water.

"Gwbbbblll! Gwaaah!" Toshiro shouted as he flailed for a moment before regaining his footing. Sakana was laughing now; this amused her. Toshiro crawled out of the bath and took off his dripping wet Shikakushou before going back into the bath.

"You made this steam, didn't you?" Toshiro demanded as he found Sakana and sat next to her. Sakana grinned and kissed Toshiro's forehead.

"Yeah… this is the most I can do with my reiryoku right now. Releasing Kaenrinmaru and using shunpo kind of exhausted me." She said. Toshiro wrapped his arms around her body, which now felt flushed again. Toshiro concluded it was the hot water that made her naked body hot.

Sakana rested her head in the crook of Toshiro's neck and closed her eyes. Toshiro's skin felt slightly chilly to her, and it felt sooo good. Toshiro's lips were once again at her neck and she sighed as she shifted so she was sitting pretty much on his lap. She felt his manhood against her thigh, and shuddered in pleasure. Toshiro's hands gently stroked her hair.

After a while the two got out (well, realistically Toshiro carried Sakana out of the bath) and returned back to the house, where Toshiro laid Sakana on the bed. Sakana moaned softly as Toshiro kissed her on the lips again. Her eyes opened to see Toshiro staring hungrily back at her.

"Let the fun begin." Toshiro whispered, licking his lips.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

**Translations and Stuff Like That:**

_Koushouna: _Noble

_Heimin: _Commoner

_Kanjouinyuu: _Empathy

_Seishinkanno: _Telepathy

_Mai hanryo: _My partner.

_Mai aibou: _This also means my partner.

_Yokujou: _Bathhouse.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Yeah, much different than before. Don't worry, Gin will be explained soon enough.


	7. Christmas Love

This Light, the Will of the Heart, I See

_"I must return Tousen to his senses. He believes that the path he travels is justice, but it only brings pain." –Komamura Sajin_

**NOTE: This is the second revision of this fanfic. If you have been reading it before, ya might wanna go back through an' look through it again… This is the one chapter that I did not change much in.**

**Inspiration: **The stuffed fox named Gin sitting on my bookshelf

**Chapter Rating: **PG-13

**Spoiler Warnings: **..for the next chapter, if that counts… (see chapter warnings, lol)

**Chapter Warnings: **mentions of rape. Whoops! That's next chapter! Um…mature themes.

"_These are normal thoughts."_

_Note: Some Japanese words may be in italics._

_**These are thoughts Sakana receives. "This is stuff she sends."**_

"_This is one's Zanpakuto."_

**Chapter 7: Christmas Love**

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Toshiro opened his eyes around 10 the next morning. Toshiro's fried mind could not comprehend anything now because of last night. It had been amazing… He had never drunk sake before; therefore, he had never gotten drunk. However, he suspected what he had felt last night was how it felt to be drunk. His aqua eyes flickered to his love, whose head was on his chest. Her eyes were squeezed shut, and she let out a soft whimper before falling back into a deeper slumber.

"_I wonder what she's dreaming about." _Toshiro thought. Her eyebrows twitched and she flexed the hand that was not on his chest. Toshiro let out a groan; her left hand wrapped around his cock, trapping him. He stroked her head gently, attempting to coax her to let go.

"_**Let, go, please."**_ Toshiro thought, even though he felt a little ridiculous, trying to think to her. To his surprise, she actually released his manhood, and he let out a sigh.

Now, if he could just get out of bed without waking her…

Toshiro sensed something. It felt weird to him, getting this feeling, but it made him feel warm and fuzzy. He looked back at Sakana, who had a slight smile on her face.

It was pure affection. She was subconsciously taking his feelings and returning them to him. He gently kissed Sakana on the cheek and slid out from underneath her, replacing his body with a pillow. She hugged the pillow to her, but did not wake. The girl could sleep like a rock; that was for sure.

He put some boxers and an ice blue yukata she had bought him last Christmas on and went to the kitchen. Most of the time Toshiro just pulled some cereal out of the cupboard and put some milk with it if the servants all captains were provided (except Kuchiki-sama) didn't cook. However, the snowy taichou did know how to cook relatively well, so he went through the pantry and pulled out some ingredients.

Sakana snuggled closer to the pillow. Toshiro's mint and evergreen scent coated the pillow, and she did not want to let go of it. It smelt so heavenly…

Another scent reached her nose, and she took her nose from the pillow and sniffed the air. Did she smell bacon and eggs?

Smiling, she got out of bed and put on the purple and white yukata Shunsui had bought for her some time ago when she made captain. Brushing her black hair into a ponytail, she entered the kitchen and grinned.

"_Ohayou _Shiro-kun, you made breakfast?" Sakana said, sitting down in a chair. Toshiro smiled and nodded.

"And what's wrong with that?" Toshiro asked. Sakana giggled and picked up her chopsticks (1).

"So, what are we going to do today, kaen-hime?" Toshiro asked, making Sakana blush slightly.

"I dunno… we could go to the Karakura Lake. It's frozen over this time of year, and I've never gone ice-skating before…" Sakana trailed off. Toshiro gave her an adorable confused/surprised look.

"You've never been ice-skating?"

Sakana shook her head. "No. I hate getting wet; see, so I've always been terrified of falling through the ice. You can ask Shunsui; he tried to take me once, and I threw such a tantrum he left me with Ukitake." Sakana said.

"Humph. You hate getting wet, huh?" Toshiro said with a smirk on his face. Sakana turned a lovely shade of red and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Nyeh."

"Well, I'm going to teach you how to ice-skate." Toshiro said triumphantly. Sakana raised an eyebrow.

"What, you know how?"

"Of course," Toshiro said with the smirk on his face, "I'm the Ice Prince after all."

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Toshiro slid out onto the ice on Karakura Lake. There were a few familiar faces, like Keigo, who had dragged Ichigo and his friends out to the lake. Rukia was laughing at Ichigo, who was white-washing Keigo.

"C'mon, Sakana." Toshiro coaxed. He only got the fleeting feeling of fear from the flame taichou (holy crap another tongue twister xD).

"A-Are you sure? Ice has a tendency to melt under my touch (in more ways than one, lol); I'm the wielder of a flame Zanpakuto, after all." Sakana said. Toshiro smiled took her hand.

"I'll make sure the ice doesn't melt for you. I told you; I'm the Ice Prince. This ice will stay frozen, no matter what you do to it, even if you don't mean to."

He taught Sakana how to get going, and how to stop. Once she got the hang of it, it was almost as if she had known how to ice-skate all along.

"Hmm… you're pretty good," Toshiro said as Sakana stopped in front of him, "It's almost like you're a natural born ice-skater." Sakana blushed at this.

"I guess so." She said.

After a while, Ichigo came up to them.

"Hey, Toshiro, Sakana."

"It's Hitsugaya-taichou, Kurosaki." Toshiro said. Ichigo rolled his eyes; the captain's constant reminder always got on his nerves.

"Whatever. You wanna play ice hockey with us? There's another group coming, and we're playing against them. Thing is, we're missing two people." Ichigo said. Sakana shrugged.

"Sure, seems like fun. C'mon, Shiro-kun!" She said, grabbing Toshiro's hand.

The duo waited in the snow surrounding the lake as the opposing team arrived. They looked menacing, and looked a lot larger than Ichigo's team.

"Gulp… maybe this wasn't such a good idea…" Sakana gulped. Toshiro snickered at his love.

"What, is my kaen-hime frightened?" he asked. Sakana shook her head, her body trembling.

"No, it's not that… It's the thoughts of these guys… not exactly the nicest guys on the block." She muttered, putting a hand to her head, "Ugh…headache…" she whispered. Toshiro began to feel the heat from her; she was losing control of herself. The snow around her began to melt. He helped her up, and went to Ichigo, who was standing on the ice.

"I'm sorry, Kurosaki, but we have to go. Sakana's not feeling well." Toshiro apologized. Ichigo glanced quickly at Sakana and then at the ice hockey players.

"…that bad, huh?"

There was a creaking sound, and the ice underneath them broke.

Both Toshiro and Sakana managed to get to the bank. Ichigo had grabbed Keigo, Chad had leapt to safety carrying Uryu who was protesting to be put down, Rukia had simply jumped on Ichigo's back as he jumped to the bank, and Orihime simply created a shield and floated on it. The heavy-set ice hockey players were not as lucky, as they were standing more in the middle of the area. Sakana's eyes widened as her nightmare became a reality.

Toshiro could not refreeze the water, because the hockey players were still in there. They flailed around, shouting for help. The ice taichou could feel the heat coming from Sakana, and tried to use his own reiatsu to counter hers. It was a feeble attempt; after all, it is hard to freeze a flame. (2)

Toshiro leapt out of his gigai and jumped into the freezing waters. Maybe if he could freeze the water underneath them, they would stand a (GHOST OF A) chance. Sakana fell to her knees on the bank, a hand still to her head.

"Sakana…" Ichigo said, reaching for her. She flinched and drew away.

"…Don't touch me—!"

However, Ichigo's hand touched her shoulder, and his eyes widened in shock.

He heard and felt everything she heard and felt.

The substitute soul reaper pulled his hand away in surprise, like he had touched a hot stove. In that instant, he had been in her shoes, experiencing what she did. As Toshiro came back to the surface, the ice froze, saving the big ice-hockey players. They crawled back onto the bank, coughing up water. Then they piled as quickly as they could back into their van and drove off, leaving Ichigo and Co. on the bank, crowded around Sakana.

Sakana was shaking, her arms wrapped around her knees. They did not, or rather, could not, get too close to her, because her reiatsu had created a heat shield around her. Her instinct was protecting her involuntarily. Her breathing had increased; almost to the point of hyperventilation. Toshiro sat next to her and wrapped his arms around her, gently nuzzling her neck.

_**Calm down, kaen-hime. It's alright.**_ He thought, forcing a bit of his reiryoku into her. It wasn't as effective as making love to her, but it would have to do for that situation. Sakana's body stopped shaking and she relaxed against him, closing her eyes.

_**Just relax. I'll get you home.**_

Toshiro picked up Sakana and nodded a farewell before running off with Sakana in his arms.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Once they got back to the house, it had begun to rain. Sakana awoke as Toshiro was laying her on the bed. The girl tried to sit up and tell Toshiro something, but Toshiro's lips cut her off.

"To…Shiro…? MMPH!"

"Be quiet. You need to sleep." Toshiro mumbled against her lips. Sakana felt his cold breath on her lips and her eyes flickered.

"Mmph…stop it. I need to go shopping later…" Sakana muttered. Toshiro flopped down next to her and pulled Sakana into a hug.

"_Hatsu no nemuri_."

Both Shinigami left their gigai. Sakana snuggled next to her Toshiro, his chilly breath on her neck. The girl finally surrendered to Toshiro's will and the duo fell into a doze.

A few hours later Sakana awoke feeling much better. She slipped out from underneath Toshiro's arm and straightened herself out. She saw Hyourinmaru on the sword stand next to their bed and picked it up.

"_Toshiro, I'll need to borrow your Zanpakuto for a little bit. In the meantime, I shall leave Kaenrinmaru with you."_ Sakana thought, slinging Hyourinmaru on her back. She quietly opened the door and shunpo'ed out into the rain. She hated the rain (being the wielder of a flame Zanpakuto, she tended to hate water in general, except for Toshiro, she supposed), but this was something she had to do.

"_Sakana-san, what are you doing?"_ Hyourinmaru asked. Sakana almost lost her footing and almost fell off the roof she had landed on; surprised that she could hear Toshiro's Zanpakuto.

"_**Nyeh?"**_ Sakana thought, shocked. She had never heard of a Zanpakuto spirit actually talking with someone other than their original wielder.

"_You are surprised you can hear me? It is obvious I can trust you."_ (3)The ice dragon said with a snort, _"So, what is the plan? You would not just take me out for a little joy ride, would you?"_

Sakana laughed and landed on another roof. _**"No. I want to ask you something, but I waited until Toshiro was asleep to ask you. Toshiro can't hear you right now, can he?"**_ Sakana asked.

"_No. as long as I am in your possession at this moment, he cannot hear me unless he summons me. What is it you ask, child?"_

Sakana flushed slightly at the kind tone Hyourinmaru used. _**"Would it be possible to buy a different sheath for you? I-I saw one that I think Toshiro and you would like…"**_ The taichou trailed off, slightly embarrassed.

"_Well, I would believe it would be possible. Let us see it."_ Hyourinmaru said. Sakana grinned and shunpo'ed off to the shop she wanted to visit.

"Hello?" Sakana asked, sliding open the door. The shopkeeper was a man with messy black hair and an eye patch over his right eye. He was wearing a silver Shinigami uniform. The man dropped down on one knee upon seeing the captain.

"Satoshi-taichou! What a surprise!"

"Ah, Tenshu, you don't need to treat me like that just because I'm a captain now!" Sakana laughed, cuffing Tenshu upside his head playfully. Tenshu stood up and gave Sakana a friendly hug. The two had been friends in the academy. When they graduated, Tenshu learned he had a special talent; he could make special Zanpakuto sheaths, sheaths that could amplify the power of the Zanpakuto and its wielder. After much discussion, Yamamoto allowed Tenshu to go to the world of the living and make his livelihood there. He wasn't a super-strong Shinigami, but he did know how to fight, and was willing to fight for what he believed in.

"Huh? This isn't your Zanpakuto… This belongs to Hitsugaya-taichou, does it not?" Tenshu said, looking at Sakana suspiciously.

"Yes, it is his. I've come for that sheath you had for me on back order. I just brought Hyourinmaru to make sure it fits." Sakana said, drawing Hyourinmaru. The sword felt oddly familiar in her hand, as if the Zanpakuto were her own.

"Ah. But how did you get it away from him?"

"He's asleep. I left my Zanpakuto with him to make sure he doesn't wake up until I get back. Now, about that sheath…" Sakana said. Tenshu nodded and motioned for Sakana to follow him back.

After moving boxes around Tenshu pulled out a slim box. "Here it is." He said, pulling the sheath out of the box.

The sheath was a light blue that complimented Hyourinmaru's hilt perfectly. The sheath had a green swirl from the tip to the other end. Wrapped around it was a blue and green sash.

"_**Well Hyourinmaru?"**_

"…_Toshiro will love this."_

Sakana laughed and took the sheath, carefully putting Hyourinmaru in it. After a few moments, she took the Zanpakuto out of the sheath.

"I'll take it." Sakana grinned. Tenshu looked from the sword to the taichou and shrugged.

After Tenshu wrapped the sheath and Sakana paid for it, she walked home, humming lightly to herself.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Toshiro opened one eye sleepily. How long had he been asleep? He felt drugged, or like he had drunk sake.

"_Hey, Hyourinmaru…"_

No response. At least, not the one he was expecting.

"_Huh? What? Oh, you're awake." _Kaenrinmaru mumbled.

"What?" Toshiro exclaimed, sitting up straight in bed. His eyes shot over to the sword rack and immediately noticed Hyourinmaru was missing.

And so was Sakana.

"_Kaenrinmaru! Where's Sakana?_" Toshiro demanded. Kaenrinmaru materialized in front of Toshiro, something he wasn't expecting. The fire dragon yawned.

"_I can't tell you that."_

"And why not?" Toshiro growled. Kaenrinmaru opened one eye and gazed at Toshiro.

"_Because, Sakana-san told me not to tell you. In fact, you're supposed to still be asleep."_

Toshiro grumbled at the dragon, arms crossed.

"So, Sakana took Hyourinmaru and left without telling me, but she told you and won't let you tell me. She is in SO much trouble when she gets back…" The door opening cut Toshiro off.

"_Oi Oi_, Toshiro, you're awake!" Sakana said. She came into the bedroom holding Hyourinmaru.

"I should say so. What did you do with Hyourinmaru?"

Sakana gulped; she hadn't anticipated him being awake at this moment. "Uh… training," was the first thing that came out of her mouth.

"Training?" Toshiro asked, raising an eyebrow, "I find that very hard to believe."

Sakana blushed as Toshiro shook his head, crossed the room, and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. He rested his head on hers, letting his reiatsu wash over her.

"Do you remember what today is?" Toshiro mumbled.

"Uh, isn't it the 19th of December?" Sakana asked. Toshiro smiled and pulled a present from his sleeve.

"Happy birthday."

Sakana stared at the present that Toshiro had seemingly pulled out of nowhere. She took it and shook it, trying to tell what was inside of it.

"Shaking it won't do you any good." Toshiro said smugly. Sakana frowned and tried to read his thoughts, but there was nothing in them that would help her. Shrugging, she opened the box.

"Toshiro…"

Toshiro almost flinched at the tone Sakana used. "Hai, my kaen-hime?"

"Alright, tell me. What did you get me?" Sakana asked, still shaking the box. Toshiro smiled gently and pointed to a door outside of the bedroom: the closet door. Sakana stared warily at the door for a moment before turning back to Toshiro. She opened the box and pulled out a key.

"It's not going to jump out and eat me, is it? You didn't get me a Menos for my birthday, did you? (AN: I wouldn't mind getting a Menos for my birthday, as long as it didn't attack me and listened me xD)" Sakana said jokingly. Both Shinigami laughed as Sakana unlocked the door.

Sakana never got a chance to even open the door.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

**Translations and Kuso like That:**

_Hatsu no nemuri: _sleep first.

_Tenshu_: his name means shopkeeper. Hehe, I'm clever. xD jk.

_Oi Oi: _It actually means hey in Japanese. Me and my friends say Oi a lot. NO YOU DAMN COMPUTER YOU ARE NOT GOING TO GO BECKY ON ME!!! (is talking about grammar corrections above with the me and my friends thing)

_Kouhii:_ coffee.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

(1) … I know it's out of place… hold on. (beats auto number thingy on word 2007) STOP THAT! Anywho, I know it's out of place. I'm being kinda redundant, aren't I? I eat almost everything with chopsticks, except for thanksgiving dinner. The one thing I didn't eat with my pretty blue chopsticks.

(2) Although, according to Pokémon, it's possible to freeze a fire-type Pokémon with an ice-type attack. I was playing Pokemon Chrystal and I was battling an ice type trainer with Roy (my Arcanine; yes, I named him after Roy Mustang) and the Pokémon used Powder Snow and Roy froze. O.o

(3) Hee, I'll explain this next chapter.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

There's gonna be some epic shit happening next chapter! Along with Aizen and Gin! No Tousen because I hate him. Even though we're both black. Does that even make any sense? CONGRATZ! YOU HAVE SURVIVED ONE CHAPTER OF FILLER!

So yeah, I took out a huge chunk because I didn't like it. Meh. Now, onto rewriting the 8th, 9th and 10th chapters!


	8. Shinigamiknapping

This Light, The Will of the Heart, I See

_"Yare yare… this will be a huge fight, but we'll pull through, right Sakana-chan?" –Kyoraku Shunsui_

**NOTE: This is the second revision of this fanfic. If you have been reading it before, ya might wanna go back through an' look through it again… Shit, I just screwed up this chapter. Imma gonna hafta rewrite the entire damn chapter!**

**Inspiration: **None.

**Chapter Rating: **PG-13

**Spoiler Warnings: **Up to the 25th Bleach Manga (checks Shonen Jump) uh, Chapter 14 of the Vizard Arc?

**Chapter Warnings: **mentions of rape. Shit, that's next chapter! Grrz…

Hey, something nice for you to know! There's gonna be only 14 chapters (hopefully). Can you guess why? /snicker/

"_These are normal thoughts."_

_Note: Some Japanese words may be in italics._

_**These are thoughts Sakana (and spirit animals) receives. "This is stuff she sends."**_

"_This is one's Zanpakuto."_

**Chapter 8: Shinigami-knapping (Would it technically be kidnapping since it's Sakana and Toshiro being kidnapped? Oops, spoiler.**

**[deleted])**

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Sakana paused, sensing something was wrong. The soul pager was beeping obnoxiously in the bedroom, but neither soul reaper had time to react, nor even grab it. The door to the small house was blasted to pieces as two white blurs zoomed in.

Through the wall stepped Gin, and Tousen. Toshiro narrowed his aqua eyes at the group. Grimmjow smirked at the infuriated Toshiro as he held Toshiro's arm from reaching for his Zanpakuto.

"Aw, what's wrong? Y'not happy to see us?" Grimmjow snorted. Toshiro growled.

"Hardly."

"Just come with us without a fuss." Ulquiorra said. Toshiro raised his left hand in front of him and pointed it at Ulquiorra.

"Hado 54: _Hisaki_!" Toshiro said. A fireball went sailing towards the green-eyed Espada. Ulquiorra quickly disappeared and reappeared with a flailing Sakana in his arms, Gin's Zanpakuto at her neck.

"Make another move, and she dies." Ulquiorra said, his cold green eyes glaring at Toshiro. Sakana squirmed in the Espada's arms, but couldn't escape.

Toshiro almost fell to his knees, but was held up by Grimmjow, who was now holding both arms behind his back. There was no use to trying to resist. If he moved, she would die. He couldn't put her in danger like that.

"Toshiro, run!"

Toshiro looked up at Sakana. She was still struggling to break free of Ulquiorra's grip. She looked at him pleadingly as Gin pressed his Zanpakuto against her neck.

"Just get out of here! Go!" She snapped. Toshiro quietly shook his head. He silently wished that this hadn't happened, that they weren't in this situation. If she could reach her Zanpakuto, then they could fly away. Sakana's speed was a little bit greater than the Espada's speed. They could escape that way, but it wasn't possible. Toshiro thought of all the possible options.

Surrender was the only way for both of them to get out of this alive.

"_**Toshiro, no…"**_

"Get her out of the Gigai and then you." Gin said coldly. Sakana struggled some more, but Ulquiorra bound her arms so she couldn't move them, then freed one hand to take his own Zanpakuto and put it to her neck.

"What happens if I don't?" Toshiro snarled.

"Yer lil' girlfriend's blood'll be shed!" Grimmjow smirked. Toshiro sighed; he had no choice. He reached into his Shikakushou and pulled out the glove he used for Sakana when she couldn't get out of her Gigai herself. He didn't like it. The plan was perfect; if one's life was threatened, the other would obey. That damn Aizen… he hated him.

Sakana's reddish-brown eyes, which were still a little pale, pleaded Toshiro to leave. She would be able to take care of herself. However, Toshiro did not intend to leave her. There was absolutely no way. He looked Sakana in the eyes, a sad smile on his face.

"…Don't worry. It will be my fault."

He pushed his palm against Sakana's forehead, and she fell out of her Gigai. Now she was exposed to the rough emotions the two Arrancar and the two traitors held. Then Toshiro left his Gigai. He thought he had a brief moment of freedom, but was mistaken when Grimmjow tightened his grip.

Grimmjow roughly bound Toshiro's arms. "That's more like it. Although I wouldn't have minded a little fight…" the blue-haired Espada sighed wistfully.

"Keep in mind Aizen-sama said to bring them back unharmed." Tousen said. Grimmjow just scoffed.

Toshiro watched as Sakana slowly lost consciousness, her body going limp. Ulquiorra threw the unconscious soul reaper over his shoulder like a sack o' potatoes and opened a garganta in the room.

"Let's go; mustn't keep Aizen-sama waiting." Tousen said. Toshiro bit his lip but allowed himself to be pushed through the garganta, not once looking back to the small, now trashed house.

This was all going to be his fault; he would willingly take the blame.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

"Aizen-sama, we have returned."

"Ah, Toshiro-kun. Sakana-chan. Welcome to my fortress of fortitude, Las Noches."

Toshiro growled at the traitorous bastard as Gin, Tousen, and Grimmjow bowed. The defector was smiling happily like a child who had gotten a special treat, and Toshiro did not like it. He could tell something was just waiting to happen. Oddly enough, he started thinking more like Sakana for a moment. _"Las Nachos? The Nachos? (1) Are you kidding me?" _she would probably have said had she not been unconscious. He snarled the next few words, glaring at the traitor.

"What do you want with us?"

Aizen chuckled and ruffled Toshiro's hair in an almost playful manner. "Ah, this is not the setting for a conversation such as that. We shall move in a moment."

Toshiro growled again. The duo had been dragged around through the fort, past many Arrancar. He could tell that besides the ones he had seen, there were many more lounging around, waiting for Aizen to give the signal to attack. Toshiro had tried to break free of Grimmjow's grasp, but he was stopped upon remembering that Ulquiorra's Zanpakuto was at his lover's neck.

"No injuries whatsoever? Excellent job."

"Hai, Aizen-sama." The four said (Grimmjow yawned). The traitor stepped down from his giant chair of doom and despair and motioned for Ulquiorra and Grimmjow to bring the two into another room. Toshiro then felt an unnatural chill go down his spine at Aizen's smile; it had gone from kind to conniving.

"Don't worry, you will find this very interesting…"

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Ichigo, Rukia, Byakuya, and Hana looked in horror (well, Byakuya's mouth simply thinned to a line, cause we all know how emotionless he is) at the small house. There was a huge hole where the four had blown the door away, and the house itself looked like a tornado had struck. Two bodies lay next to each other next to a door, but it was clear that no one was inside. Hana returned from the bedroom with the beeping communicator; the message was still flashing on the inside. Ichigo was the first to break the deafening silence minus the rain pounding on the windows.

"What the hell happened?"

"Everyone, look around for some clues. Something to help us." Hana said. Rukia disappeared into the bedroom, Byakuya went to the kitchen, and Ichigo went to the living room.

Hana surveyed the surroundings. She had a feeling about what had happened to her captain, based on what she saw. The two had been about to open the door when the four intruders had burst in. They must have caught one of them, and the other had to comply, forcing both of them out of their gigai and to Hueco Mundo. There did not look like there were signs of a struggle either. Had there been a fight? No, because a lot more would have been out of place if there were. Aizen wanted them for something, but what?

Hana's thought process was interrupted by Byakuya prodding her shoulder.

"Hmm? Oh, Kuchiki-kun, what's this…?"

Hana looked at the piece of paper the noble had given her. On it was the word "_Oshiire"._

"Closet…?"

Hana looked at the closet that the two bodies were lying next to. As Byakuya shifted the bodies away from the door, Hana opened the closet door and noticed two boxes on the floor. One was clearly labeled, "To Kaen-hime". It must have been Sakana's birthday or Christmas present. The other said, "To Shinigami-chan". The box seemed to emit more of a sense of urgency, so she picked up the box and opened it.

Inside was a letter, neatly wrapped in ribbon. Hana pulled it out, tossed the box carelessly over her shoulder, and scanned through it.

"Oh, my god!" She shrieked after reading it. Rukia and Ichigo heard Hana's shriek and rushed over to where the noble was now reading the note, a frown appearing on his face.

"…this is not good. We need to have an emergency meeting right away. Let us return to the Seireitei."

"Hai!"

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

The duo was dragged into a room that looked more like a lab room. Arrancar littered the area; they were sitting around; simply lounging until the next set of orders was given to them. Aizen smiled at the duo, first at the slightly bristling Toshiro, and then the unconscious Sakana, who was laid on an operating table. The sickening smell of both blood and sterile was suffocating.

"So, would you like to explain what is happening with Sakana-chan? Or would you rather hear my theory about her?" Aizen asked. Toshiro was tempted to snap back "neither", but he did not want to bring any harm to either of them through rash actions.

"Why would I tell you anything?" Toshiro said instead.

"Not speaking? Oh, well, no matter. I will tell you my theory. Feel free to interject with positive feedback or things I may have left out." Aizen said, sounding much like a teacher about to give a monologue, "But first things first… Bakudou no. 99, Kin (AN: seal)."

Toshiro felt a numb feeling spread first from his feet throughout his entire body, stopping at his neck. He couldn't feel or move his arms or legs, but his head was free. (It's only a partial seal.)

"I need you to stay out of my way and the process."

"What process?" Toshiro asked, a feeling of dread settling in his stomach.

"Hollowfication."

Toshiro felt like the world had just exploded around him.

"I have been watching both of you. Mostly her. I knew what had happened when Sakana-chan fought that Arrancar. Why he named himself Gay, I do not know, but I had created him just for infiltrating the Soul Society. I expected him to actually kill one of you, and bring the other here, but then something unexpected happened."

Toshiro knew what it was; when he had dove to protect her.

"You saved her life by diving in front of the blast. Of course, water is stronger against fire, so she had almost been rendered useless. However, she unleashed her final attack, her last attempt. And she won, but at a price. She became empathic, unable to stand being within a few feet of people with strong emotions. So she became very vulnerable."

Toshiro growled. "I know all of this, get to the point."

Toshiro could have sworn that Aizen's smile had turned into an asymmetrical grin.

"In due time, Toshiro-kun. Now, I knew that it would take some time for her to recover, so I decided to send you little hints and tests. You are both very strong, and you could become Espada, maybe a one or two."

"We won't just bow down and be your pets just like that." Toshiro snarled.

"Ah, but you will. I have her in my grasp; there is nothing you can do about that. I know about your bond: your _Rinji kenpei._ That is why I have brought you here. The bond of yours even allows you to communicate with each other's Zanpakuto spirit. Besides, with all of the Arrancar and Espada around, as well as the hollows that roam the dry desert of Hueco Mundo, there is no way you could escape."

Toshiro didn't say anything. He couldn't.

"The process should be very interesting. After all, I have not tried it before. But… _rinji kenpei _that works only with two people, and those two people actually meeting… it is a once in a thousand… no, 5000 year occurrence. You are more than _nakama_s, yes?"

"Stay out of it." Toshiro growled, glaring into Aizen's menacing brown eyes.

"You might want to be a little more civil, Toshiro-kun. Remember, I have her life in my grasp." Aizen said as Ulquiorra moved his Zanpakuto closer to Sakana's neck. Sakana's breath hitched quietly, and Toshiro felt some relief. It was the first thing she had done since they had arrived in Las Noches, but it meant she was still alive. The traitor turned to Grimmjow, Ulquiorra, and Tousen.

"You three may leave. Gin-san, you may stay here."

"Hai." The four chorused. Grimmjow bounded out of the room, seemingly relieved from having to deal with the snowy taichou. Aizen moved over to where Sakana lay, gently placing a hand on her cheek.

"Get your filthy hand off of her!" Toshiro yelled. Sakana's breathing became more labored, her eyes squeezed shut.

"She truly is empathic. My reiatsu isn't affecting her, but…."

Toshiro looked around wildly. He needed some way to stall, to make Aizen pause for only a moment.

"I had hoped that her being in his place would be enough to cause the hollowfication to take place. I suppose I was wrong."

"Aizen, leave her alone." Toshiro growled. Aizen frowned, putting his fingers close to where he could feel her fluttering pulse. She began to gasp for air.

"Gin, I will leave both of them in your custody." Aizen said, removing his hand. Sakana's breathing calmed a little bit, but her eyes were still scrunched shut in pain. Her shuddering breath worried Toshiro, but he knew that she was still alive.

"Hai, Aizen-sama. Hakufuku…" Gin said. Toshiro felt his sight fading in and out. Damn, he couldn't take his eyes off her. However, the power of the spell was stronger than his will, and he slipped into unconsciousness, looking into Aizen's eyes.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Sakana woke up feeling sick to her stomach. She hadn't felt this sick in a while. She looked around at her surroundings; a white room with white walls and a white floor. _"That man needs an interior decorator."_ She thought. Then she saw Toshiro, lying unconscious next to her. She turned and made sure he wasn't hurt. He looked okay, except for the expression on his face. He looked as if he was in terrible pain, but also terribly upset.

"Toshiro…"

"You're awake."

Sakana almost fell out of the bed. It was Gin's voice, but it sounded nothing like Gin at all.

"Gin? Hey, _shinyuu_!" Sakana said, trying to be a little cheerful around her old friend.

"How odd of you, referring to me as if we were friends." Gin muttered. Sakana gave Gin a skeptical look.

"We are friends."

"Not that I am aware of." Gin said, "I have never even met you."

Suddenly, Sakana understood.

"You're under Aizen's control, aren't you? This isn't you." Sakana whispered.

"No, this is me. This is the true me. I have always been indebted to Aizen-sama."

Sakana approached the Shinigami. Part of her was terribly afraid of the man she had once called her friend. The other part wanted to reestablish their friendship. That part trusted Gin. However, the part wanted to bring the old Gin back was stronger. She leaned forward, ignoring the suffocating feelings that she was getting from him. She willed herself to stay conscious, at least for a few moments more.

"This isn't you. I know." She muttered, "We used to go drinking all the time. We used to have fun. This definitely isn't you."

"Make me believe it."

Sakana had looked up memory displacement kidou while in the Central Library. She knew there were types that could completely rewrite a person's memory.

But she knew how to bring it back.

Gin's expression turned to one of shock as Sakana pressed her lips to his. Thank goodness, Toshiro was unconscious, or he would have a fit. The man's subconscious became muddled as Sakana brought all of the true thoughts and memories from the depths of his mind. Suddenly, she pushed him away, backing away from him as she did Rangiku before.

"What's wrong? Are y'okay?" Gin asked, approaching the girl.

"Don't come any closer!" Sakana cried out, pushing Gin away from her. She was breathing heavily again, almost hyperventilating. She took a few steps backwards and crashed into a side table, knocking the lamp off. When it shattered, Toshiro's body jolted and he snapped awake.

"Sakana!"

He immediately went to her side. The other captain had her head buried in her hands, rocking back and forth. He wrapped his arms around her while glaring at Gin.

"What did you do to her?"

Gin gave the duo a blank look. "I didn't do anythin'. She just freaked out an' scooted away from me."

Toshiro was surprised. Gin's dialect had changed, from being polite to a rougher dialect.

"What the hell?"

Sakana's trembling subsided, and she looked up at him wearily, pain reflected in her pale reddish-brown eyes.

"S-shiro…"

Toshiro gripped her, allowing his reiatsu to wash over her. The snowy taichou turned to Gin, a glare in his eyes.

"What does Aizen want with us?"

"He wants you for your _rinji kenpei_."

Toshiro had a blank look on his face. He knew that some people had _rinji kenpei_, and others lacked it altogether. His and Sakana's hadn't matured yet, so why would he want them?

"Oh, ya don't know 'bout it? Guess it'll be better hearin' it from me than hearin' it from Aizen-teme later…"

**Translations and Kuso like that:**

_Hisaki: _means flame.

_Rinji kenpei: _Special Power. It's a power that varies among Soul Reapers, but it rarely has anything to do with the Zanpakuto. Gin-kun will explain it more next chapter.

_Namaka_: colleague/friend.

_Oshiire: _it does mean closet…

_Shinyuu_: friend.

(1) me and Becky's little inside joke. It means "The Night", but we call it "The Nachos". xD

Oh, man, I totally rewrote this entire chapter, which means Imma hafta rewrite the other two! GRRZ…


	9. Dunes of Sand

This Light, the Will of the Heart, I See

"_When the time comes, we can't back down. We cannot let up. We have to give it our all. If we don't… we're all screwed." –Sakana Satoshi_

So, yeah, had to rewrite this entire chapter. Grrz…

**Inspiration: **the Matrix Revolutions soundtrack and the video for Shoes and Let Me Borrow that Top. (yeah, extrapolate!)

**Chapter Rating: **PG

**Spoiler Warnings: **Up to the 25th Bleach Manga (checks Shonen Jump) uh, Chapter 14 of the Vizard Arc?

**Chapter Warnings: **language.

"_These are normal thoughts."_

_Note: Some Japanese words may be in italics._

_**These are thoughts Sakana (and spirit animals) receives. "This is stuff she sends."**_

"_This is one's Zanpakuto."_

**Chapter 9: Dunes of Sand**

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

The captains and lieutenants met in the first division meeting hall, an unsettling quiet resting upon them. The only one not present was Hinamori, who still had not been found. Once everyone was settled into his or her respective spots, Yamamoto's voice rang out.

"This meeting has been called by Kuchiki-taichou, who had gone to the world of the living on the account that two Espada's reiatsu, as well as Ichimaru and Tousen's had been sensed around the area in which Satoshi-taichou and Hitsugaya-taichou were staying."

Glances were passed among the vice-captains; they still did not know about the two captain's relationship, except for Rangiku and Hana.

"Hana-fukutaichou, if you please."

Hana shuffled nervously in front of everyone, tightly gripping the neatly folded letter. Worry and fear were clearly inscribed on her face as she opened the letter.

"A-anou… As the vice-captain of Satoshi-taichou, I knew, but my fellow vice-captains are unaware, so I shall extrapolate. A few months after the betrayal, Hinamori-fukutaichou disappeared. We all believed she had defected, and our suspicions grew after the Arrancar's attack on Satoshi-taichou and Hitsugaya-taichou. Her reiryoku was completely drained from defeating this arrancar, and Hitsugaya-taichou had lost his memory."

Hana's grey eyes scanned the hall.

"She became empathic and telepathic; she was extremely sensitive to people's emotions and thoughts. After a while, Hitsugaya-taichou regained his memory and Satoshi-taichou's empathy and telepathy had subsided. Or so we thought."

The hall's silence was broken by murmuring among the captains; even this detail was unknown to them. Yamamoto hit his staff against the floor, and the hall fell silent again.

"When me, Kuchiki-sama, Ichigo, and Rukia went to the house they were staying in, we saw signs that there had been a forced entry; the door had been blown to pieces. When we went inside, we saw their gigai lying on the floor next to the closet. Kuchiki-sama found a note lying in the bedroom that said "closet". When we went into the closet, we found a box with a note inside it…"

Hana sniffed, trying to keep calm. "The note… it's from… Hinamori… and Aizen…"

Hubbub broke out, the captains and vice-captains shocked from the news. Hinamori had truly defected, and Aizen had written the note. Yamamoto hit his staff against the ground again, and the hall once again fell into silence.

"It's in Hinamori's handwriting… but… Aizen's signature is also… on the bottom…" Hana sniffled, wiping her eyes, "R-Rangiku… can you read it…?"

Rangiku stood next to Hana and took the letter, scanning through it, a troubled look on her face.

"Dear Shinigami-san,

I know it may seem hard to believe, but Aizen-taichou is doing the right thing…"

_I followed Aizen-sama to Hueco Mundo and found out the truth. He is trying to make the world a better place, both the Soul Society and the world of the living. He told me his plan, and I decided to help him with it._

_Aizen-sama needs Sakana-chan and Hitsugaya-kun for his plan. He first took interest in them when he first saw the two of them together. He believes that their rinji kenpei can bring a stop to all the madness in the world. Therefore, he sent Ichimaru-san, Tousen-san, Grimmjow, and Ulquiorra to the world of the living to bring Sakana-chan and Hitsugaya-kun to the soul society…_

At this, muttering once again broke out, but then quickly died down.

_Aizen says that they know about his plan and they will help him eventually. As for the Soul Society, he says that it needs help. His theory is that Sakana-chan and Hitsugaya-kun's rinji kenpei will automatically create the beautiful world he has imagined. That is why he took them; so that he can awaken their combined power._

_I know you probably don't trust him, but Captain Aizen is doing good. Please, don't interfere with his plans._

_--Hinamori Momo_

In thicker writing was Aizen's name underneath. Hana had pulled out a handkerchief and was wiping the tears from her eyes. Rangiku gently hugged the other vice-captain.

"This is a complicated situation…" Shunsui sighed, looking up at the ceiling, praying that his daughter was okay.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

"Lessee… I remember Aizen-teme doing some research at some point. Somethin' about rinji kenpei. When I looked over 'is shoulder, I noticed it had sommat to do with double rinji kenpei. Y'know all 'bout normal rinji kenpei, don't ya?" Gin asked.

Sakana nodded. "Yeah, it's a special talent that a Shinigami has that normally doesn't have anything to do with their Zanpakuto. Like mind reading or regeneration."

Gin nodded. "Yeah. Anywho, from what I found out, there's rinji kenpei that works only between two people. It happens, oh, one in a thousand years or so. There's a very low chance that it'll actually happen, but an even lower chance of th'two people gettin' together t'use it."

"And that's what Aizen wants us for? Because we have this special rinji kenpei?" Toshiro asked. Gin nodded grimly, the smile disappearing from his face.

"Yes. He doesn't know exactly what ya rinji kenpei is, but he knows that it'll bring a helluva lotta havoc in th' soul society. Ya rinji kenpei has somethin' t'do with ya Zanpakuto, though… I can help ya with it."

Gin stood up and went over to his bookcase, shifting around some books before pulling out a scroll. He handed it to Toshiro.

"That'll tell ya howta unleash it. I'll try to hold Aizen-teme off for as long as possible, but then ya gotta start the war and come over here. Also, here. Take this."

Gin pulled something out of his white sleeve and handed it to Sakana, who took it, looking at it. It was a crystal bottle with a turquoise liquid inside.

"What's this?"

"For ya empathy. I know it's stronger than ya telepathy, so that should help. 'posed to make it easier for ya to not be so sensitive." Gin said. Sakana and Toshiro both let out a snort.

"I'll keep it, but I don't really need it right now. So far… it's been an act."

Gin had a puzzled look on his face. "Huh?"

Sakana smiled. "Yep. I can still sense feelings and thoughts, but it's something I can control now. Even Aizen's feelings don't affect me as much as it would have back when it first happened. It's all been a sham. As long as they have at least touched me, I won't be overwhelmed. That's why I kinda flipped out whenever I touched you. I haven't been around you in a while, y'know?"

"She actually had me going back there, when Aizen touched her face and she began freaking out? I actually thought he was hurting her." Toshiro chuckled. He stood up, helping Sakana up as well. Toshiro then opened the scroll and began to read, Sakana peering over his shoulder.

"So that's how it works?" Toshiro said, "It's pretty complicated, and uses up a lot of energy…"

"Let's give it a shot."

Toshiro looked at Sakana, whose eyes had finally returned to their normal reddish-brown color. She looked very determined, albeit a little shaky.

"A-are you sure?"

Sakana smiled and hugged Toshiro. "Positive."

Sakana then turned to Gin, one of the best friends she would ever have.

"Are you coming with us?"

"Nah, I can't. Aizen-teme will suspect somethin' if I leave. He'll know that I've broken through that lil spell of 'is."

Sakana glared at him. "Well promise me three things. One, you won't get caught under his spell again, two, you'll try to help us any way you can until the war, and three, you come back with us once the war is over. Got it?"

Gin shrugged. "Whatever ya say, Sakana. Just be careful."

The trio then slipped out of Gin's room where they were being held. In order to make it look more convincing, Gin carried Sakana over his shoulder and had his Zanpakuto at a safe distance away from Toshiro's neck. He marched the trio through the darkened hallways of Las Noches until they reached a dead end.

"…this should do it."

Gin placed Sakana on the ground. Toshiro and Sakana looked at the perpetually smiling Shinigami.

"I'll have t'leave ya for now, but ya can handle yourselves, right?" Gin smiled. He gave Sakana a quick hug and patted Toshiro on the shoulder.

"Ja ne, Gin-kun."

Gin took Sakana's hand and kissed it.

"Ja ne."

As Gin shunpo'ed out of sight, Sakana placed her hands on Toshiro's shoulders.

"Ready?"

Toshiro nodded.

Aizen was awoken from his light slumber in his chair of doom by suddenly flaring reiatsu. It took the _uragirimono_ a moment to realize whose reiatsu it was. He suddenly knew what had happened.

The two soul reapers were trying to make a break for it.

Aizen quickly called Ulquiorra and Gin to his side. The "king of Hueco Mundo" was confused. How did they escape? Gin was supposed to be watching over them… and he knew that as long as he had one, the other would do whatever he asked…

"Hai, Aizen-sama?"

"Sakana-chan and Toshiro-kun are trying to escape. Gather anyone who is available and stop them." Aizen said darkly. Gin nervously nodded.

"Hai, Aizen-san."

Sakana finally managed to get a good look at herself. She had wings, but it wasn't like her bankai. They were red dragon wings as well as the dragon tail that normally came with her bankai. Quite frankly, she looked like a cross between a dragon and a Shinigami. Toshiro had blue wings and a blue tail.

"So this… this is our rinji kenpei?" Toshiro muttered. Sakana pulled his arm.

"We'd better beat it; I hear arrancar."

Toshiro was about to open his mouth to ask what arrancar, but he remembered that she was telepathic and could hear the thoughts of others even when it was dead quiet. Sakana raised one hand and fired a cero-looking blast at the ceiling. Both crouched and leapt into the air, flapping their giant wings.

"There they are!"

"Get them!"

The duo flew high above Las Noches, seeing the little specks that were Arrancar. Sakana swiftly banked to the right as a cero managed to reach up to their height.

"Toshiro, can you hold them off? I can open the garganta!" Sakana shouted. Toshiro raised an eyebrow, but nodded.

"I suppose. When did you learn how to do that?"

Sakana smirked and turned her back on her lover. "Gin told me, one way or another."

Toshiro focused his attention on the arrancar below. They were becoming quite a nuisance, attempting to fire their cero high enough to hit them. He raised his hands and fired an ice-blue blast at one arrancar, freezing it in its tracks. The other arrancar looked at their nakama and then up at Toshiro. One arrancar let out a roar and released his Zanpakuto, turning into a giant zebra-looking thing.

"Sakana, hurry up! They're getting pissed!" Toshiro shouted. Sakana finished opening the garganta just as a cero from the zebra-looking arrancar clipped her wing.

"Shit!" Sakana cursed, flailing for a moment in the air until Toshiro grabbed her hand and pulled her through the portal. The portal closed right before another cero pierced the air.

Sakana felt herself falling. She opened her eyes to see herself plunging towards a roof. Coming out of her shock, she attempted to flap her wings, only to find out they had disappeared. Then she felt two arms wrap around her waist.

"Brace yourself!"

Meanwhile, in the Seireitei, the captains were awaiting orders from their head captain when all of a sudden a very powerful and familiar reiatsu filled the air. A few vice-captains fell to their knees from the overbearing spiritual pressure.

_**CRASH!**_

Even the captains were thrown off guard as the reiatsu crashed right through the roof of the hall, scattering debris and dust and (and asbestos lol just kidding, just kidding) everywhere. When the dust finally settled, they could see a tuft of white hair and blue wings.

"Ow… baka, why through the ceiling?"

"Sorry…are you okay…?"

The captains were shocked at the fact that Sakana and Toshiro had just crashed in through the ceiling. Sakana sneezed and shook herself off in a dog-like way, sending dust flying everywhere. The other captains and vice-captains began to cough as well until the dust died down.

"Sakana-taichou!"

Sakana was promptly tackled by her vice captain, who had tears in her eyes again. She grinned goofily and managed to dislodge herself from her fukutaichou's grip.

"_Kora kora!_ Hana, I'm fine!" Sakana said. She was aware that she probably worried the hell out of her vice-captain for being kidnapped.

After both captains getting an angry earful from their vice-captains, Toshiro and Sakana decided to get cleaned up and rest a little. Yamamoto agreed to it, deciding that they were probably exhausted from the crashing-through-the-ceiling incident.

It was apparent that none of them had seen Toshiro's wings, and for that, they were grateful.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Aizen was beyond pissed. He was so angry that he had thrown his cup of tea, punched a wall, and killed a few random subordinates via different methods (incineration, picking off every single pubic hair, hitting the genitals, and sticking them in/into a flamethrower, etc.).

Then there was Gin.

"Ichimaru, what the hell happened?" Aizen snapped.

"I'm not very sure. I think while I slept, they broke the seal they were under. I was expecting them to stay unconscious. I'm sorry, Aizen-sama." Gin said. Aizen growled, ruffling his brown hair.

"No matter. I have something else in store. They refused, so now, the Soul Society will perish. Ulquiorra!"

"Hai, Aizen-sama?"

A maniacal grin spread on Aizen's face.

"I think it's time to release… the beast."

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Translations and Such:

_Uragirimono: _Traitor.

_Kora Kora_: Hey, hey!

Yes, completely rewrote this chapter. And chapter 10, too. Grrz… so troublesome…


	10. The Poison's Twilight

"_Do not worry. I will protect you until the end, kaen-hime." –Hitsugaya Toshiro_

This chapter was completely rewritten. And, if you didn't notice, there's no mention of rape in any of these chapters. What I changed completely destroyed that part in the fic…

Okay, in case you didn't know, I have rewritten parts of this fanfic. If you're just tuning in to this chapter because it was on your story alert, sorry, but you gotta go back and read from… the very beginning. I AM SO SORRY! (throws self on ground to beg for forgiveness) I was reading back through it, and since I now have a definite plot, I decided to write some things in and erase some chapters and stuff. But it'll hopefully still be fourteen chapters.

Also, much thanks to the people who have faved/reviewed/story alerted mah story. I love ya guys!

One last thing: Sorry this chapter is so incredifreakinlylong, but I wanted to fit a lemon into here. Also, I kept having Toshiro call Sakana princess, and then I started thinking "The princess is in another castle!" lol.

**Inspiration: **…

**Chapter Rating: **M

**Spoiler Warnings: **Spoilers for the Bount Arc and a little bit of the Shusuke Amagai arc.

**Chapter Warnings: **LEMON! I forced myself into a lemony mood, because I'm so overdue for one. And the next chapter will have one. I feel terrible because there has been a lack of lemon.

"_These are normal thoughts."_

_Note: Some Japanese words may be in italics._

_**These are thoughts Sakana (and spirit animals) receives. "This is stuff she sends."**_

"_This is one's Zanpakuto."_

**Chapter 10: The Poison's Twilight**

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

"Sakana, what was Hueco Mundo like?"

"………"

Sakana and Amaya were in the 5th Division office together. It had been forever since the two had actually relaxed and chatted idly, ever since Aizen's defection and Amaya's promotion into Aizen's place.

"Well, it's sandy, that's for sure. Nothing but open deserts…"

Amaya could tell that Sakana was being a little stingy with details, but she had to press her.

"And Las Noches?"

Sakana looked away. She knew that Amaya was an empath and telepath as well; that was what her rinji kenpei was. She knew that Amaya could just read her mind, so why was she asking?

"…………"

"…Sakana?"

"…Stone walls, stone floors… the scent of blood… of fear… of death…"

Amaya looked at her old captain and her best friend. Sakana's black hair shadowed her eyes, hiding her expression.

"…feelings of fear… the will to kill… bloodlust… hate… the urge to fight…"

Amaya reached out and touched Sakana's shoulder. The images that were burned into Sakana's memory flowed into Amaya, and she drew her hand away.

"…it's terrible…"

"Amaya, I know Aizen is your father, but this is our fight. It's us he wants." Sakana said. Amaya understood what Sakana was trying to tell her.

_This isn't your battle. When the war starts, stay out of it._

"I get it. Now c'mon, the Captain's Retreat is in a few hours! And you have to look nice for Shiro-kun! He won't like it if you're all depressed!" Amaya said cheerfully, pulling at Sakana's arm. Sakana looked at Amaya with surprise in her eyes, and then grinned.

"Neither will Juushiro-kun."

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Sakana shunpo'ed to her house, making sure that Toshiro was nowhere in sight (or thought range). Toshiro usually never went to the Captain's Retreat that occurred around this time of the year. It was a party that all of the captains attended. There was food, and drinking (lots of it), and the captains could relax and have fun for one afternoon. It was also the once chance they had to not wear their Shikakushou and actually wear something else for a change.

The captain went into her bedroom and opened her closet. Hanging there was a beautiful pink kimono that, according to Shunsui, had belonged to her mother. She had only gone to a Captains' Retreat a few times (most other times she was either sick or had so much paperwork Amaya would not let her go), so she never had the opportunity to wear it.

"Kaaaaen-hiiiiiiiiime…"

Sakana squeaked, slammed her closet door shut, and spun around. Toshiro was crouched on the balcony, a mischievous look on his face.

"T-Toshiro! How long were you there for?!"

"Not long. What are you hiding?" Toshiro questioned, looking into Sakana's startled reddish-brown eyes.

"Nothing…"

Toshiro's smile turned into a smirk. "Oh? Something you don't want me to see? Is it what you're wearing to the Captain's Retreat?"

Sakana turned a bright shade of red. "…no comment." Toshiro smirked; he knew it.

"Ah, you want it to be a surprise. I see." He leapt all of the way in through the window, disappearing for a split second. Sakana was bewildered for a split second, until she found herself lying on her bed, staring into Toshiro's aqua eyes. She let out a squeak as Toshiro pressed his lips to hers.

"I'll make you tell me."

Sakana squirmed, attempting to get away from Toshiro's kisses. Then he began to poke her sides, making her squeak even more.

"(Squeak) S-STOP IT! Uhehehe… H-Hey! S-stop t-t-tickling m-me! (Squeak) Haha haha~!"

Toshiro poked Sakana in the side some more; her number one ticklish spot, besides her feet. Speaking of which… he brushed one hand against the bottom of her foot, and she jumped with another squeak.

"(SQUEAK) C-Cut it out! Gyahahahahaha! S-shiro! D-d-desist!! Ahahahahaha!"

"Well?"

"Cut it o-out a-and I'll show y-y-you! (Squeak)" Sakana squeaked. Toshiro finally stopped torturing his girlfriend, and she flopped back onto the bed, limp.

"Gehehe… Damnit, Toshiro…I sometimes almost want to hate you…" Sakana muttered, waving a hand, "Shoo. I'll change. Come back in an hour or so. I'll finally be ready then."

Toshiro did as he was told, leaving back through the window. Sakana giggled as she managed to push herself up with shaky arms.

"Great. And he was so close to getting the truth out of me… damn it Toshiro…" Sakana snickered as she went to the bathroom to wash her hair.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Aizen and Ulquiorra stood on the sky above the Soul Society. Aizen sighed wistfully; he remembered when he used to go to the Captain's Retreat, getting drunk (That's a funny mental image; a drunk Aizen) and partying with the other captains without a care in the world. He was still plotting to turn against them even then, but he had to admit that he had fun that one night in the year. He could see the festive lights around the first division, and deep deep deep deep deep deep down, he longed to be down there with them, drinking and partying. Aizen shook his head; why was he thinking like that?

"_Because, you were one of them once."_

Aizen ignored Kyouka Suigetsu, even though the Zanpakuto spirit was sort of telling the truth. That one day of the year, he forgot about his plan to destroy the Soul Society. He relaxed and had fun, not caring about evil plots or dangerous weapons. He sighed again, scratching his head. He really needed to stop living in the past. It had all been a façade; nothing more.

"Aizen-sama?"

Aizen sighed again. "It's nothing, Ulquiorra. Do you have it?"

Ulquiorra nodded, letting out a sharp whistle. At once, a garganta opened, unnoticed and undetected by the Soul Society, and a cage pushed by two arrancar came out.

"Ah, Bount-kun. Nice to see you again."

Inside was a Bount; it was one of the few remaining Bounts after Kariya's failed attack on the Soul Society (besides Koga, that is). The Hogyoku, however, had modified this Bount. The Bount's doll had merged with him, and with that, special powers had been given to him. Not only could he spread a dangerous toxin, he could change his shape at will.

"Can…I… go…out…?"

Aizen nodded to Ulquiorra, who pulled out a key and put it in the lock to the cage.

"Hai, Bount-kun. Go and do what you do best. Where all the festive lights are, go there."

"Hai… I… can finally… see… what's… around…"

Ulquiorra broke the seal on the cage, and the Bount zoomed out, disappearing from view.

"Come, Ulquiorra," Aizen sighed, once again giving the area of festivities a melancholy look, "I do not wish to linger any longer here."

"Hai, Aizen-sama."

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Toshiro would have taken her right there and then.

But one, they were standing in front of about 30 other Soul Reapers from her division.

And two, taking her right now wouldn't be proper. Not before the Captain's Retreat.

"…_anou_…uh…"

Speechless.

Sakana was wearing the pink kimono. Her hair was done up in a ponytail, as it usually was. For once, she actually wore a little makeup, even though Toshiro said she was beautiful without it. She was wearing silver tabi and black sandals. Her Zanpakuto had a black sheath with a pink and silver sash, and she was wearing a straw hat much like Shunsui's.

"…my god…"

Toshiro felt himself getting excited, and he blushed several shades of red. Sakana giggled at her boyfriend's actions. She knew it wasn't every day that she wore something besides her Shikakushou, but she knew he thought she was stunning.

Toshiro himself was dressed in an ice-blue kimono with a green sash around his waist. He stood there, gaping at his girlfriend with an open mouth like a fish. Finally, he managed to get his brain working again.

"…you are so hot."

Sakana smirked. "I know I am." (LOL PUN)

A few of the other male Soul Reapers looked enviously at the icy captain for having such a beautiful woman as his girlfriend. Only her division as a whole knew that the two were together. Since they mostly kept to themselves within their own division, they never told anyone else. Toshiro offered his arm, and Sakana took it.

"Shall we go, then?"

"Yep! Food and sake await us!" Sakana cheered. Toshiro gave Sakana a kiss on her cheek before the two captains shunpo'ed away.

If you did not know any better, you would not think they were a group of powerful captains. Shunsui greeted his daughter by tackling her in his favorite way (Sakana accepted the tackle hug, laughing). Juushiro was chatting with Amaya, who wore a stunning orange kimono to match her hair. She was blushing, making her look even more like a giant sunset, as Sakana affectionately said. Soifon and Mayuri were having a drinking contest (Surprisingly, Soifon could out drink even Shunsui), Yamamoto was chatting with Komamura, who was happily munching on some yakitori, and Unohana and Byakuya were playing Shogi (Unohana was winning; slightly infuriating Byakuya, but he did not show it much). Kenpachi was cheering on Soifon in the drinking contest.

Soon, the captains all sat down to eat. Soifon was only slightly drunk, while Mayuri was passed out on the ground (a drunk Mayuri; there's another image). Toshiro was very interested in a watermelon dish; if anyone tried to take a piece, he would growl at them and they would leave him alone. Sakana was laughing at Unohana, who almost lost her hand via Toshiro (Unohana gave Toshiro a very mortified look, which made the situation all the more hilarious). Yamamoto raised his glass and proposed a toast.

"To the Soul Society and our good fortune during the war."

"Hear, hear!" Soifon slurred, the sake finally reaching her brain.

"Sit the hell down, ya drunk!" Kenpachi said, slapping Soifon on the back. Soifon giggled like a high school girl on crack and sat back down. Soifon and Kenpachi were actually great friends… when they were drunk. (Soifon drunk… okay, I'm just going to draw a picture of all of the captains drunk.)

The captains began to eat, cheerily chatting about random things. Sakana looked towards where the third division captain was normally seated and chuckled. It made her think of the two previous captains, Shusuke Amagai and Gin. Shusuke had become the captain right around the time of the last Captain's Retreat. He was so hilarious when he was drunk, considering that even inhaling the scent of sake caused him to be drunk. He was even more of a lightweight than Yoruichi. And Gin… he was just a party animal. She shook her head and took the dish that Amaya offered her.

"Try it! Ikkaku made it for Kenpachi to bring, since Kenpachi can't cook worth shit." Amaya said cheerfully.

Another tradition of the Captain's Retreat was that each captain brought a dish. Normally things from the 11th and 12th divisions were avoided unless they knew who had cooked (or helped with) the dish. Surprisingly, a good number of the captains knew how to cook, and their dishes were well received, such as Unohana's umeboshi (lol, they both start with U). Sakana looked at the questionable-looking dish, but took a small bite.

"Hm… holy crap this is amazing! Despite it LOOKING like shit, it tastes awesome! Toshiro—"

"No. I don't eat questionable food. Remember the last time a captain ate questionable food?" Toshiro said. Sakana snorted. Shunsui had been given a platter for his birthday one year, but when he ate it, he had the shits for about two weeks. He thought that even though it smelled okay and looked like crap, it was fine.

"No, seriously, it's fine!" Sakana said. Toshiro finally gave in and took a bite of the platter.

"…not bad…"

Ukitake and Amaya were both now slightly turning green from whatever Mayuri's dish was. Ukitake saw a fly sinking in it, and tried to throw it an udon noodle, but it was hopelessly sucked under. With shifty eyes, Amaya took the dish and threw it in the trashcan behind her. Nobody would miss that dish.

All the captains were enjoying their meal. Desserts were being served, now. Sakana had "slaved over a hot oven for about four hours" (in reality, it took her about half the time) to make a delicious sake cake. Soifon had let out a disappointed sound after learning that the actual sake was baked out of the cake, leaving it with a delicious sake taste. All the captains favored the cake, and Yamamoto even ordered Sakana to give him the recipe. Sakana chuckled at this.

"Sorry, Yama-jii, but I've been forbidden from sharing this recipe outside my family."

After a few more hours of partying, the captains finally began to go back to their quarters. Sakana picked up her and Toshiro's plates (both were empty) when Toshiro snuck up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"I know it's you."

Toshiro picked Sakana up, and she giggled. He had told Sakana earlier that after the festivities were over, the two of them would go to the hot spring Rangiku was always trying to drag her captain to. Toshiro took the dishes and gave them to the servant, who blinked at the couple as they disappeared from the hall.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Both captains were quite relaxed and in bliss from the sake. The onsen was as great as Rangiku had exclaimed to her captain, trying to get the frosty taichou to relax and not be such a workaholic.

"Mmm… Rangiku was right, this is great…" Toshiro said, sinking into the water. Sakana snuggled closer to Toshiro. She felt so calm, sitting next to the one she loved. She rarely had any self-control to begin with, but anything she did have was gone. She was happy that everything was calm. They were together; it was the perfect evening. The stars twinkled merrily in the sky as the couple relaxed. Toshiro's wet hair hung loosely around his face, his arms wrapped around her.

The few drinks Toshiro had had made him feel… dare he say it, giddy? All of his self-restraints had left him. He felt so relaxed, like there was no reason to rush the moment. They had only moments before they would be thrust into war, so why not enjoy the quiet time they had together? The air was slightly chilly, but it did not matter to the couple. Only the two occupied the large onsen, which Toshiro was grateful for. He was also surprised that an onsen like this had no other occupants, but he didn't care. He had Sakana, and that was all that mattered.

"…this is perfect."

"Mm."

Sakana yawned, feeling like she had been drugged. All the food and the onsen were making her drowsy. She was about to close her eyes when she felt Toshiro's lips at her neck. She tried to quell the moan that was in her throat, but failed. Toshiro smirked and ran his hands through her silky wet hair. He reached around Sakana's waist, and gently prodded her side, causing her to jump with a squeak. Toshiro snorted; her number one ticklish spot.

"Will you stop that?!"

"Never."

Toshiro pressed his lips to hers in a loving kiss. There was no lust or hunger in it; nevertheless, Sakana could not stop the moan in her throat. Toshiro snickered and broke the kiss, staring deep into Sakana's eyes.

"I love you."

Sakana blushed, looking away from Toshiro.

"I love you, too."

Within the next five minutes, they had left the onsen, and were in his quarters. The entire building was silent, which was perfect. The duo was alone in the building; the servants had left hours ago. Toshiro kissed Sakana's neck gently, causing her to let out a moan.

"Mmmhh… Shiro-kun…"

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-LEMON STARTS HERE! X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Sakana's arms linked around Toshiro's neck as he kissed her collarbone, lust clear in his actions. Her body shuddered, and her eyes flickered closed with a muffled moan. He laid light kisses on her cheeks, forehead, and nose, causing her to wrinkle her nose. Sakana let out another moan, and Toshiro took that opportunity to dip his tongue into her mouth.

As he deepened the kiss, Sakana buried her hands in his snow-white hair. The temperature in the room started to rise above what was considered normal when the fiery princess was around. His hands slid underneath the thin peach yukata she had worn to the onsen, brushing against her sensitive sides. Sakana let out a soft squeak at the tantalizing touch, her hands clenching in his hair, but he did not care. Toshiro left her addicting lips and gazed into her brown-ish red eyes.

Her eyes looked a little more red than brown, and Toshiro briefly wondered if it was because of him. There was no need for words, mentally or physically. The look in each other's eyes conveyed what they felt about each other. Smirking, Toshiro latched onto Sakana's neck, sucking. He gently bit her, leaving a love mark, letting everyone know that this girl, his princess, belonged to him and him alone. Sakana winced a little at her lover's biting, but did not care. She belonged to him now, and no one would take her away from him.

"You belong to the Ice Prince of the Soul Society, now." Toshiro smirked, licking the small bite sensually. Sakana let out a chuckle mixed with a soft moan.

"And the frosty workaholic prince belongs to the fiery princess."

Toshiro ran his hands down the toned stomach, causing Sakana's eyes to flutter close and her breath to hitch. The frosty captain smirked; no matter how many times they had made love (and it was a lot), Sakana was always sensitive to his touch like the first time. He left her neck and moved down to her chest, letting his cold breath flutter across her breasts. When he began to suck on one, Sakana arched to the touch, her nails scratching Toshiro's back. He winced a little bit; her nails were always unusually sharp, but he didn't care as he continued to pleasure the woman he loves. He took one breast in both hands and sucked on it. Sakana moaned from the sensation, a heavy blush on her cheeks. As the nipple grew hard under his mouth, he left it, moving to the other one. As he gently sucked on the nipple, he pushed one finger inside of her, causing her to let out a lust-filled cry.

"Nngh…shiro…!"

Her body clamped around his finger as Toshiro thrust his finger in and out of her, adding another one. Her svelte body writhed at his touch, and he withdrew his fingers, releasing the princess from the mind-numbing torture. Her body collapsed back onto the bed, trembling.

"Ah…Shiro…?"

Toshiro then pulled off the yukata he was wearing before pulling off her peach yukata, opening her fully to his touch. He felt his member grow hard.

"You're so beautiful, hime."

Sakana's face turned another shade of red as she bit her lip. She looked at Toshiro, and almost had to do a double take.

Was it just her?

It almost looked like Toshiro had blue dragon wings like before when they escaped from Hueco Mundo. She blinked again, but her eyes soon squeezed shut at Toshiro's icy breath at her opening. Her brain couldn't function properly anymore as she let out a wanton cry as Toshiro licked her opening. Her breath hitched and she grabbed Toshiro's head, wanting more of the sensation. Toshiro left her hot opening and moved back up to her lips, kissing them lightly. Suddenly, Toshiro found himself on his back, Sakana straddling him. She was breathing heavily, a mischievous expression gracing her features. He raised his head, about to ask what she was doing, but his head quickly slammed back into the pillow.

"W-wha… Aagh!"

Toshiro bit his lip, his hands clutching the sheets as Sakana's hot breath ghosted over his erection. She took hold of him, her hands moving deftly up and down his shaft. He squeezed his eyes shut; the way her hands moved over him was driving him crazy. He wanted to take her, to feel her heat surround him, but he was trapped. He tried his hardest not to moan, but it because harder for him not to when Sakana began to lick the shaft, her head bobbing up and down. He felt his entire body shudder from pleasure, but as soon as he felt himself about to come, she stopped.

Taking advantage of her brief pause, he kissed her, causing his princess to collapse on the bed, him on top of her. He thrust three fingers into her, sucking on her breasts, feeling her cunt clutch the digits inside of her. Sakana moaned, her body writhing, her panting heavy. He wanted to see how far he could push her before she came. The fiery princess bit her lip, knowing what he intended to do.

"S…shiro…mm…"

Toshiro smirked at his lover underneath him, begging for release, for that feeling inside of her. Not wanting to deprive his princess of her wishes, he thrust into her, causing her to cry out in pleasure. He felt her cunt surround him, and he sighed, enjoying the feeling. It felt so damn good, to be inside the hot cavern. He began to rock her body, thrusting deep into her. Sakana pulled his head down and kissed him, her tongue touching his. She was wetter and hotter now, and he began to plunge into her, hitting the special spot that made her scream his name.

"Ah! To-Toshiro…! Oh, god…"

She wrapped her legs around him, meeting his hips with every thrust. Unable to hold back, Sakana sank her teeth into Toshiro's shoulder, letting out another lustful cry. Toshiro thrust faster and deeper into her, her cunt convulsing around his length.

"I..I'm close…To…shiro…"

"AH…Sakana…I'm gonna…"

Sakana was thrashing as her prince thrust into her. Neither was able to speak coherently as the sensations they were getting from each other drowned out any other thoughts in their minds. Sakana felt her climax coming, and knew that Toshiro was reaching his as well. Her moans had turned into lust-filled screams as she begged for her release. He lapped at the love-bite he gave her as he thrust deep into her, slamming against that special spot.

"AAH! S-Shiro! Oh, god…!"

Finally, Toshiro could no longer hold out. As her cunt clamped down on his length, he came, screaming his princess's name to the stars. Sakana came soon after, her teeth digging into his shoulder as she screamed in torturous pleasure, her body shuddering from the force of the orgasm.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-LEMON ENDS HERE! X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Toshiro withdrew from his princess, flopping down next to her. At once, she snuggled to his chest, one arm draped over him. He gently kissed Sakana's forehead, dripping with sweat. Both were quite sticky and wet, but did not want to move from the comfort of each other's warmth. He rubbed her back, and she melted into his touch.

"I love you."

"mm, yuki-ouji… I love you, too…"

Sakana was already falling asleep, thoroughly exhausted. Toshiro pushed himself up with limp arms, pushing the two wet yukata onto the floor. He would deal with them later. He pulled the blanket over them, allowing the fatigued princess to once again snuggle against him. He wrapped his arms lovingly and protectively around her, kissing her on the top of her head.

"Oyasumi, kaen-hime."

Sakana snuggled against Toshiro, flush against him, a small smile on her face.

"…best Captain's Retreat ever."

Toshiro chuckled, his eyes fluttering closed as he began to fall asleep. Briefly, he looked at the princess in his arms, and his eyes widened a little bit.

Sakana had red dragon wings poking out from underneath the blanket. Carefully he reached out and stroked it, and she mumbled something incoherent, shifting her position a little bit. The ice prince felt his eyes getting heavier, and made a mental note to ask Sakana what exactly was going on before he fell into a deep slumber, his lover against him.

Unfortunately, a mere three hours later, the duo was awakened by a hell butterfly. It landed on Sakana's nose, and she sneezed, her eyes fluttering open to see black. Something itchy was on her nose…

"AAGHWTFBBQZOMFG!" Sakana shouted, jolting awake as the hell butterfly floated off her nose and hovered in front of her. Toshiro groaned and sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"…what's going on?"

Sakana looked at the clock. It was almost two in the morning; what could they possibly want? With a muddled brain, she held out her finger, and the hell butterfly gingerly landed on it.

_Satoshi-taichou, Hitsugaya-taichou, please come to the fourth division. This matter is extremely urgent._

Sakana and Toshiro looked at each other in horror. "Shit…" Sakana muttered, knowing the three hours of sleep they got was all they were going to get.. Then she got a good look at Toshiro.

"What the…"

"What's the matter?" Toshiro asked, concerned. Sakana reached out and brushed her hand against one of Toshiro's blue dragon wings.

"That's what's the matter. What the hell is this?" she asked, confused.

"You've got them, too."

Sakana looked at herself; indeed she did have red dragon wings and a red dragon tail. She stretched, spreading the wings as well.

"…rinji kenpei?"

"Well, we don't have time to worry about that now! We have to go!" Toshiro said, getting out of bed and wincing. Sakana grabbed his arm and began to drag him to the bathroom.

"W-what are you doing?"

"If we take a shower at the same time, we'll get there faster. Let's go." Sakana said. Toshiro then allowed himself to be taken to the bathroom to take a shower and get ready in five minutes.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

The duo was surprised upon arriving at the fourth division. They weren't sure what to expect when they got there, but what they saw surely wasn't what they expected.

"R-Retsu…? What the…"

Unohana was lying in a bed, a flustered Isane by her side. Unohana's eyes were shut and she seemed to have trouble breathing. Ukitake and Amaya were standing next to the bed, a worried expression on both of their faces.

"Okay, what the hell happened here?" Toshiro asked Ukitake.

"It seems one of the dishes was laced with poison. Kurotsuchi-fukutaichou is doing an analysis from all of the dishes, so we do not know which one it was but all of the captains are at risk." Ukitake said.

"You two seem to be fine, and so do we. Unohana, Mayuri, Shunsui, Soifon, Komamura, and Byakuya are all in the same state."

Sakana heard a wail, but it only reached her ears. "Poor Hana…" she muttered just as Nemu rushed in.

"Ukitake-taichou, Higashi-taichou, I have the results. There were traces of poison in a yakitori dish." Nemu said. Sakana scratched her head.

"There was an yakitori dish?"

"I didn't see it." Amaya said.

Sakana thought about it a little more. Ukitake and Amaya had been sitting near the end of the table with them and Yamamoto. Mayuri had been sitting next to Soifon once he woke up, Shunsui had been sitting next to Unohana and Byakuya, and Komamura was next to Soifon.

"Who brought the dish?" Toshiro asked Ukitake. Ukitake shrugged.

"I looked at the list. No one brought a yakitori dish."

The five looked at each other.

"A work of Aizen?"

"It's a possibility." Ukitake mused, "However, we must concentrate on them getting well before the war. It could start any day now, and we cannot afford to have captains out of action when the day comes."

Sakana looked thoughtful. "Come to think of it, Aizen always brought a yakitori dish for the Retreat. He may be a traitor, but damn it he was a good cook." Sakana chucked dryly.

There was a groan from the direction of the bed, and all eyes turned to the fourth division captain, who looked very pale and shaky as she sat up.

"There… might be… a solution…"

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

_Anou: _err…

_Yakitori: _grilled chicken.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

And thus ends the longest chapter I have ever written in ever.

Okay, I will tell you guys one thing: the 12th and 13th chapters are the Winter War. xD I'll let you figure out what the next chapter and the 14th chapter are!

And also, a little information for you; because of the mark Sakana and Toshiro have left on each other, they can freely access their rinji kenpei. It tends to show itself when they need it the most, or when their reiryoku combines. After about ten minutes, if they don't use it or don't want others to see it, it fades away.

The next chapter may have the last lemon before the Winter War. No promises, though! xD my brain is totally fried from ACT and PSAE testing in the SAME WEEK, and then writing this, so… I dunno. If I recover from the mental trauma I endured from testing, you may get a lemon! Love ya guys! xD

--MattsyKun_TEFA


	11. The Mist of Silence

"_Keh! Those traitorous bastards better put up a good fight!" –Zaraki Kenpachi_

Hehehe, Rangiku loves to shop. xD Now I see her singing Lemme Borrow That Top or Shoes. xDDDD

And she tried to suffocate a kid in her boobs. XD

Also, new Japanese phrases. I'm having a little trouble with sentences, but I'll be okay. I also got a book called Dirty Japanese, so I can write better lemons xD

**Inspiration: **…hehehe… (mind has temporarily gone to gutter, be back later)

**Chapter Rating: **PG-13

**Spoiler Warnings: **…idk my bff jill xD Nah, I don't know.

**Chapter Warnings: **Language…IDK. No lemon this chapter xP. Not in a lemon mood.

"_These are normal thoughts."_

_Note: Some Japanese words may be in italics._

_**These are thoughts Sakana (and spirit animals) receives. "This is stuff she sends."**_

"_This is one's Zanpakuto."_

**Chapter 11: Mist of Silence**

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

"U-Unohana-taichou! Y-You shouldn't be up!" Isane exclaimed. Unohana shook her head.

"No. If I die… who will take care of the Soul Society?" Unohana said. Sakana smiled slightly. That was the Unohana they all knew and loved.

"Well, what's your plan?" Sakana said, stepping forward and flinching. Her body was still sore from their "activity" three hours ago." Unohana motioned for Nemu to get something, and she shunpo'ed away for a moment, returning with a piece of paper.

"Here's the other analysis." Nemu said, handing the paper to the taichou, who began to cough violently. Isane rubbed Unohana's back until the coughing subsided.

"(cough, cough) Erhem… according to the analysis… The poison is actually…"

The next words struck the occupants of the room like lightning.

"A mixture of the blood of Satoshi Sakana, and Hitsugaya Toshiro… and thousands of trace elements…"

Sakana's body shook. When did he draw their blood? When did he do any of this? And why would Aizen want their blood? Her mind began to spin. He used their blood so they couldn't reverse the effects of the poison… no. How would he know that the two exactly would reverse it? No, he used their blood so that they were the only ones who could reverse it. But why the captains? Was he forcing them to choose between healing them and exhausting themselves or facing him alone with no captains? Was the poison only reversed by someone with their rinji kenpei? Was it an experiment, so see if their rinji kenpei was transferrable? Was—

"Sakana."

Toshiro took Sakana's hand in his, squeezing it gently. He could hear the many thoughts buzzing around in her head. He had never felt her so flustered before in his life, besides underneath his sensual touch. He gently kissed the spot on her shoulder where he had left his mark, hidden away from prying eyes.

"Relax." He muttered. Sakana's shuddering slowed, and she looked into Ukitake's eyes.

"Why our blood?" She managed to force out.

"Your blood has a characteristic that allows it to bond to other elements. It seems to be a precaution to prevent an ordinary removal of the poison." Nemu said, "All soul reapers with high levels of reiatsu have this special compound in their blood."

Toshiro growled, gripping Sakana's hand tightly. "How do we dissolve the poison?"

Sakana let go of Toshiro's hand, thinking. "Soifon's Zanpakuto can eliminate poison… if we can get Soifon to stab herself with her Zanpakuto and eliminate the poison in her body, we can take care of everyone else."

"That just might work." Toshiro said, "Maybe if we can get a sample of the poison, it'll work faster."

"Funny you should ask." Ukitake said, "We thought you would come to that conclusion, so we pulled a sample from before. The Research and Development group is working on replicating the poison as we speak."

"Right now, there is not much we can do." Nemu said, but was interrupted by Akon, one of the members of the Research and Development Bureau.

"We have enough of Suzumebachi's poison to neutralize the poison. However…" The Shinigami trailed off. The others looked at him expectantly.

"We are unable to even touch the container that holds the poison." He said, holding up his hands. Sakana stepped forward and took his hands, looking at them. They looked like they were severely burnt. The captain held one hand over his, and the burn seemed to disappear. Sakana let go of Akon's hands and he nodded his thanks.

"Arigatou, taichou."

"Well, Toshiro, let's go to the Research and Development Bureau. We don't have time to wait." Sakana said. Toshiro nodded as he, Sakana, Akon, and Ukitake shunpo'ed away to the 12th division.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

"Is this it?" Sakana asked, pointing to the beaker of blue liquid. Akon nodded.

"Yes, this is it. None of us have been able to touch it. Maybe since you are a captain, you can hold it for short period of time." Akon said. Sakana reached out and touched the beaker. It was cold to her touch, but hot at the same time. When she wrapped her hand around the beaker, her hand seemed to go numb. Her sight slipped out of focus for a split second. For a moment, she could hear both Soifon and her Zanpakuto screaming in pain.

"Soifon… We have to hurry. If we don't… she isn't going to make it. None of them are." Sakana said, picking up the beaker with her bare hand. Toshiro reached out and touched her shoulder. The captain flinched and drew away.

"Toshiro… don't."

Toshiro nodded; in that split second, he too had heard Soifon's pained screams. They still rang in his ears as they carefully shunpo'ed back to the fourth division.

First they stopped at Soifon's room. Her Zanpakuto laid on the bed beside her as she lay unconscious. Sakana grimaced and placed the beaker on the stand next to the bed, gently tapping Soifon's shoulder.

"Soifon, can you hear me?" she whispered. Soifon's eyes were squeezed shut in pain, but she still responded.

"…Madam… Yoruichi…"

Sakana let out a sigh. "I'm not Yoruichi. Can you hear me?" She repeated. Soifon opened her grey eyes, which had turned a mixture of blue and tan, the colors of her Zanpakuto.

"…You have… to help…my master…"

Sakana lowered her eyes to the Zanpakuto lying next to the captain. "Suzumebachi… you're speaking to me through Soifon?"

"Help… her… use the poison… save her… I'm doing all I can… to keep her alive… coat the sword… and stab her with it…"

Sakana reached and picked Suzumebachi up, drawing it from its sheath. The blade did not glint in the light; in fact, it was relatively dull as Sakana dripped a little bit of the poison on the sword. She gently took Soifon's hand and pointed Suzumebachi at her hand.

"Do…it…" Suzumebachi said (through Soifon) as Soifon began to scream. Sakana shut her eyes and stabbed Soifon's hand with it.

After a few moments, Soifon stopped screaming, and Sakana felt the tension in the second division captain leave. When she opened her eyes, Soifon seemed to have relaxed, her tight grip on the sheets loosening. Her breathing became normal, and Sakana sheathed Suzumebachi, placing the Zanpakuto next to its owner.

"One down, five to go. Here, Toshiro." Sakana said, pouring half of the poison into another beaker, "Take this and go to Unohana, Mayuri, and Komamura. I'll take Byakuya and Shunsui." Sakana said. Toshiro nodded and left the room. Sakana sighed and was about to leave when she faintly heard Soifon.

"…Thanks."

Sakana smiled, knowing she would not remember when she woke up.

Sakana took the beaker and went next to Shunsui. Shunsui looked a lot worse off than Soifon. The squad four members had tried their hardest to stabilize his condition, but he seemed to be slowly slipping away. His normally kind eyes were scrunched in pain, and his breath was very raspy. Sakana gently placed one hand on his cheek.

"You'll heal him, right…?"

Sakana turned around to see Nanao, the remnants of tears staining her face. Sakana could not help but smile at the normally controlled vice-captain.

"Nanao, be strong. If you're upset… I can't do this." Sakana said, patting Nanao on the back. Nanao sniffed, tears threatening to fall once more.

"But… it's my fault… if I had just kept him at the office to finish the paperwork…"

"You can't ponder on the 'what if's'. You have to keep moving forward. I'll heal him, I promise." She said. Nanao nodded as Sakana set the beaker on the table. She reached for the longer of her father's swords, before Shunsui's eyes snapped open, turning a deep blue/red mix.

"Who are you?" a deep, smooth voice said. Sakana paused, unsure of what to say.

"I…I'm Sakana. Shunsui's daughter."

Shunsui let out a pained cry, and Sakana could feel Nanao's emotional wall tremble.

"Keh. What are you planning on doing?" The Zanpakuto spirit said through Shunsui. Sakana almost glared at Shunsui, but settled for glaring at the twin swords.

"Shunsui's been poisoned! You should be…"

"I should be what, little one? Worried?" Katen Kyokotsu snapped, "You do not understand. You are too young."

Sakana bit her lip, tempted to do something, anything. Suddenly, Shunsui let out a pained groan.

"Stop… Katen…Kyokotsu…let her…"

"I have no patience for a child!"

"Stop… Sakana… he isn't… like this…"

Sakana closed her eyes. "I'm sorry, dad."

With one swift motion she shunpo'ed to the other side of the bed, sweeping up the shorter blade of the twin blades. Deftly she dipped it into Suzumebachi's poison, and grabbed Shunsui's hand. Shunsui shut his eyes and let out an aggrieved moan, his reiatsu rising off him. His body rose up against his will, one hand gripping the other sword.

"Nanao! Do something! Anything! Calm him!" Sakana shouted. His reiatsu was blinding her, causing her almost to drop the short sword. Nanao nervously stepped forward. How would she calm him down?

"C-Captain!"

Shunsui (or rather, Katen Kyokotsu) turned his attention to the slightly trembling vice-captain. Nanao shut her eyes; she hoped she would not regret this later…

"Captain Kyoraku… please…" Nanao said, wrapping her arms around Shunsui in a quick hug.

Shunsui opened his eyes. One eye was its regular brown color, and the other was blue and red.

"Nanao… chan…"

Sakana took the opportunity to grab the hand that was not gripping the sword and stabbed the short blade into it. The butterfly that normally appeared when Soifon used her Zanpakuto appeared, and then quickly faded away. Shunsui closed his eyes, falling forward. Sakana managed to catch her father, almost crushed underneath his weight.

"…I'm sorry…" Shunsui mumbled. At that point, Isane rushed in.

"I felt Kyoraku-taichou's reiatsu. What happened?" she asked. Sakana grunted.

"First off, get this giant lug off me. I'm about to fall over here." Sakana muttered.

After Isane and Sakana had managed to lay Shunsui back in his bed, Sakana laid his Zanpakuto once again at his side.

"…Nanao-chan… come here…"

Nanao stepped forward. "Yes, taichou?"

Shunsui let out a weak chuckle. "Arigatou, my kawaii Nanao-chan." He whispered, taking Nanao's hand in his.

Nanao felt tears once again fall down her face as she leaned forward and kissed her captain on the cheek. He would not remember when he woke up. Sakana smiled and disappeared with the beaker, leaving the woman and her captain alone.

The others were quickly healed. Healing Unohana was easy enough, since her Zanpakuto was very gentle. Mayuri's Zanpakuto had paralyzed Toshiro for a moment, but Ashisogijizou had already dissolved most of the poison in Mayuri's body. Handling Komamura was another thing entirely. It had been extremely hard to get his Zanpakuto, let alone pick it up. Komamura had thrown Toshiro against the wall before coming to his senses long enough to stab himself with his own sword.

Senbonzakura, as Sakana figured out, was not as peaceful as the noble was. Sakana found Hana in the corner of the room, holding her Zanpakuto and shaking violently. There were cuts all over her from Byakuya's Zanpakuto as it tried to protect its master. In the end Hana had to take Senbonzakura and stab Byakuya while Sakana held him down, which was not an easy task. Byakuya had slumped against Hana, fever coursing through his body. The poison had almost killed him, and it would have if it were not for Hana. A sharp shock to his system had kept the poison from reaching his heart.

As Sakana sat on the ground, panting heavily, Byakuya managed to push himself off Hana and collapsed back onto the bed. His face was flushed, and definitely seemed out of it. Eventually he fell asleep, holding Hana's hand in his.

"Captain… thank you." Hana said. Sakana laughed weakly before pushing herself up.

"Don't mention it."

As the captain left Byakuya's room, she felt herself getting dizzy. _Maybe doing all of this is bad for my health…_ Sakana thought as she fell to her knees in the middle of the hallway. She felt hotter than she usually did as she fell forward, now lying on the floor.

"…God…damn…" she muttered to herself, closing her eyes. She rolled herself onto her back, wincing as her Zanpakuto's sheath dug into her back. She squirmed, managed to shrug the sword off, and laid it next to her.

"Sakana-chan!"

"Sakana!"

Sakana opened her eyes to see Ukitake and Amaya kneeling over her. She let out a soft chuckle as Ukitake picked her up.

"…Just like old times, eh, sensei?" Sakana said. Amaya looked at Sakana with a questionable look.

"Huh? Sensei? Oi, Uki-kun, you have explaining to do." Amaya said as they walked to an open room. Ukitake sighed, a smile gracing his face.

"Of course."

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

After a few days, all of the ill captains had returned to their normal selves. Soifon was unperturbed from her Zanpakuto being used to save the other captains; for a few hours, she seemed like a very different person. She was calm and quiet, until Marechiyo spilt sake on his paperwork. Shunsui seemed to be his normal self, except he gave Nanao a huge hug upon returning to the division. Nanao simply turned red and shunpo'ed away for a few minutes to get rid of her blush. The others were all back to full power, making Toshiro and Sakana glad. All of them rained the duo with various gifts, mostly candy. Toshiro was disgruntled, but Sakana was elated and was seen eating chocolate anywhere she went, even while training with her division.

A few days later, the captains stood in the meeting, their vice-captains behind them. Yamamoto wasn't there yet, so they simply stood around and chatted a little bit. All were nervous for the soutaichou's news. Sakana was eating a piece of Godiva chocolate that Byakuya had bought in the world of the living.

Finally, the old man took his place, and the hall fell silent.

"I am sure that you are aware of the situation. We are now aware that the Winter War will be starting sooner than we thought. We do not have a clear plan of attack yet." Yamamoto's wizened eyes swept over the Shinigami in the hall.

Sakana and Toshiro looked at each other, the same thoughts running through their minds. They had come up with a plan in case the soul society did not have one, but it was one of the riskiest things the couple would do.

"_Sakana?"_

"_Hmm?" Sakana asked, signing a paper and putting in her OUT bin on her desk. Toshiro took the pen out of her hand and held her hot hands in his._

"_You know Aizen's after us, right? For having this bond, that, no Shinigami should have, as you say. I still don't understand that part." Toshiro said, scratching his head. Sakana sighed._

"_I did some research a few weeks ago on this legend about the commoner and the noble's child? There was also something in it about a bond… Certain Shinigami have special talents, but very, very few never work without another part to it."_

_Toshiro was silent; the prodigy was actually still befuddled._

"_We are a pair, Toshiro. Our Rinji Kenpei doesn't work when we are apart. There was a one in a million chance that we would be together. Toshiro, our bond is dangerous. It would be if we didn't know how it worked. We know how to unleash the complete form of our Rinji Kenpei, so we should be safe..."  
_

"_But why exactly does Aizen want us?" Toshiro asked, "Know-it-all Kaen-hime?"_

"_Because of our bond, we are stronger together. Apart, we are weak, and we can be controlled more easily. Aizen wants to hollowfy us with that thing he has. We are the Soul Society's strongest. He wants to take us down."_

_Toshiro looked into Sakana's reddish-brown eyes. "But we'll take him down first. I have a plan."_

_Sakana listened to Toshiro's plan, different emotions crossing her face. "But—Toshiro! Do you know what'll happen if we fail?"_

_Toshiro nodded. "We will be on Aizen's side if this plan fails. And the Soul Society will fall. Now," Toshiro said, standing up and holding his hand out to Sakana, "Shall we practice?"_

_The duo went out to the 14__th__ Division training grounds. Sakana put her hands on Toshiro's shoulders._

"_Concentrate, Toshiro. Don't think about anything else but me. _

_Don't think about the war._

_Don't think about Aizen._

_Don't think about the Soul Society._

_Don't think about the division, or paperwork, or anything._

_Focus on me and me alone."_

_Toshiro closed his eyes, inhaling her scent—that intoxicating scent that made her so addicting. His mind instantly blanked out, only focusing on her._

"_Now… ban…"_

"…_kai…"_

After all of this, they understood how to properly unleash it, their Rinji Kenpei.

"…soutaichou, we have a plan…"

Yamamoto looked at the duo. Sakana was tightly gripping Toshiro's hand.

"Yes, what is it?"

"It's us Aizen wants. Because of the bond, we share. It's a long explanation, but we have an idea to take Aizen down." Toshiro said.

"We will go to the world of the living and then go to Hueco Mundo ourselves. With luck, we will end up right next to the damn traitor himself. Then, while we are occupying him, you can take out the rest of Las Noches. We even know how we're going to take him down. We've perfected the technique over the past few weeks." Sakana said. She let go of Toshiro's hand, closing her eyes. Toshiro did the same.

_Focus._

_Do not think about anything; clear your mind._

_Focus on me and me alone._

The other captains and vice-captains watched in amazement as their reiatsu grew stronger and stronger. Some of the vice-captains were on the verge of passing out. Their Zanpakuto disappeared, and their entire appearance seemed to change. A wind began to blow papers around in little circles, scattering various notes.

_Do not think about the war._

Toshiro let out a deep breath, allowing himself to connect with not only the girl he loved, but also his Zanpakuto spirit. The dragon within.

_Do not think about Aizen._

Sakana released something that sounded an awful lot like a chuckle. Her yuki-ouji had learned to cast aside everything else in his mind to focus on her. That was how the technique worked.

_Focus on me, and me alone. _

"…ban…"

"…kai…"

A pillar of ice and flames surrounded the duo. When it subsided, the captains all gasped in astonishment.

Both looked like a cross between a dragon and a Shinigami. Sakana had grey-ish silver horns coming from her head, as well as a dragon's tail. Her nails had grown out, and she was wearing flame-gradient arm warmers. Dragon wings protruded from her back, matching the tail. Toshiro was a little different; it looked a lot like his bankai, but he looked more dragonish. He had blue horns on his head, as well as blue nails and a blue scarf around his neck. Sakana's eyes were now purely red, while Toshiro's were a deep blue.

"…this is it. The completed form of our Rinji Kenpei." Sakana said, closing her eyes. The captains and vice-captains stared in astonishment, unable to speak. Yamamoto was the first to speak up.

"You do know what will happen if this plan fails, correct?"

Both nodded.

"Yes, sir."

Yamamoto let out a deep sigh, closing his eyes. "This plan is risky, but as of this moment, this plan is the only thing we have. When you go to the world of the living, inform Ichigo Kurosaki and all of his allies of your plan, and tell them all to come here, to the Soul Society. I will have Ukitake-taichou and Higashi-taichou prepare for those arrangements."

"Hai."

"As for the rest of you…" Yamamoto returned his attention to the others in the room, "Prepare your divisions. This will be the biggest war in Soul Society history, and we CANNOT afford to fail. Once Ichigo Kurosaki and his group have arrived here, we must be prepared to leave for Hueco Mundo at any time."

The old man opened his eyes, his gaze running over each Shinigami in the room.

"I wish you all the best of luck."

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Sakana sighed. They were in the 10th division barracks, her sitting on Toshiro's bed. Sakana was now eating a Toblerone (Idk if that's spelt right) that Ukitake had given her.

"Toshiro…"

Toshiro turned around from his captain's haori, which he had hung up on the back of his door. He looked at his princess, who had a concerned look on her face. He could feel her worry, a feeling that plagued her.

"I-I don't know if I can do this…" She muttered, turning her eyes downward. Toshiro sat next to his princess, stroking her black hair.

"Why not?"

"I… I don't really know…It's just too dangerous. We both have exhausted ourselves too many times." She said, leaning into Toshiro's arms. Toshiro kissed her forehead gently, hugging her to him.

"Aizen won't suspect an attack coming in from inside Las Noches, and he won't expect two captains to attack him directly. He'll have to send out the Espada to deal with the others, and we have Ichimaru on our side. We can do this. As long as we're together, we can beat Aizen."

Sakana sniffed a little bit, smiling. "Thanks, Toshiro. But… we're under his hypnosis, aren't we?"

Toshiro shook his head. "I am, but not you."

"Huh?"

Toshiro stood up and looked out the window into the sunset, "You are the only captain not under that stupid illusion he's created. I don't know how, and I don't know why, but you can see through his tricks. You won't be caught as easily."

"He'll remember, though, if he doesn't already think that I'm underneath it." Sakana muttered, pulling her black hair from its ponytail. Toshiro gently pushed Sakana back onto the bed and straddled her, pressing his lips to hers.

"We'll be okay, kaen-hime. I will not allow anything to happen to you." He whispered.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Aizen, who was sitting in his giant throne of doom, frowned. The poison had been neutralized too quickly, too easily. He sighed, scolding himself for not remembering that Suzumebachi's poison could negate any other poison. Using Sakana and Toshiro's blood had weakened the captains, but they were back at full strength in no time.

"Kaname."

"Hai, Aizen-sama?" The black, blind captain responded. Aizen lazily flicked his wrist towards the arrancar who had been put in charge of the poison.

"Kindly dispose of him, and the bount."

The arrancar started to protest, but was dragged away by the black traitor. Aizen then shook his head, his usual smile gracing his face. The war was fast approaching; he could feel it. If he were lucky, he would bring the two captains over to his side, and then proceed to obliterate the Soul Society.

"Gin."

"Hai?" Gin asked, his smile immediately dropping off his face. It had been hard, trying to keep up the façade that he was still under Aizen's control. Worry flashed through him for a split second.

"When Sakana-chan and Toshiro-kun come, be sure to give them a warm welcome, understand?" Aizen said, standing up. He yawned and stretched.

"Hai. Anything else you require?"

"Tell everyone to prepare." Aizen said tiredly, "I am heading to my quarters. Good night."

As Aizen walked back to his humongous quarters, Gin chuckled.

"How ironic. It's always night here." He muttered as he sighed and went outside of the room, poking his head out of one of the few windows. He stared at the moon, the few dead trees, the sand, and the pitch darkness.

"I hope ya come here soon… I dunno how long I can do this…" He said, turning around. His Zanpakuto shuddered at his side as he went to his quarters and opened his closet. Hanging inside was his old captain's haori. Aizen had told him to dispose of it, but he had kept it, saying he had fond memories with it.

"I believe it'll be time to take ya out again." Gin chuckled.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

My god I'm tired of this.

THANK GOD, THE WINTER WAR IS COMING UP! I do not know how much more I can write… I rewrote this chapter, like, three times. I feel dead. This fanfic has officially ruined my eyesight. Now I have to have the size 9 Verdana font zoomed in to 120%! XP

The filler is over.

They have prepared.

Quoting Yamamoto: "Let this be a full-on battle!"

Also quoting Yamamoto: "This is way past a spankin' now!" xD

Coming up next: TEH WINTER WAR~!

--MattsyKun_TEFA


	12. The War's Beginning, Part 1

"_I hope that I will be able to experiment on one of the traitors afterwards." –Kurotsuchi Mayuri_

LMAO Mexican cow.

Okay, so on Bleach: Dark Souls, whenever Chad does his shunpo thing (it's not shunpo but idk what else to call it), he makes this sound, like a deep "MUU!" and it sounds like a freaking cow. xD

Also, the fourteenth division will need a new vice-captain… any ideas? I'm considering Ichigo but… so will the fifth division…

**Inspiration: **…I'm currently watching Bleach right now… Aizen's kinda… hot…

Toshiro: YOU IDIOT! BANKAI!

Me: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Oooh, cold… Uhehehe… Also, my friend is watching Ouran High School Host Club so I'm listening to randomness and Vic saying "crap" over the phone while I write about death. xD Great combo, eh?

**Chapter Rating: **PG-13

**Spoiler Warnings: **…Not sure yet.

**Chapter Warnings: **Language

"_These are normal thoughts."_

_Note: Some Japanese words may be in italics._

_**These are thoughts Sakana (and spirit animals) receives. "This is stuff she sends."**_

"_This is one's Zanpakuto."_

**Chapter 12: The War's Beginning, Part 1**

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Sakana and Toshiro stood in front of the opening to Las Noches. It had taken them half of a day to reach the fortress, but they had made it. Sakana squinted, staring into the black abyss, and sighed.

"Do we want to risk someone seeing a light?" She muttered, more to herself than Toshiro. Toshiro took a few steps forward, trying to see into the depths of the opening. He paced back and forth, investigating the gate.

"We'd have to charge straight through. According to this map Urahara and Kurotsuchi came up with, this opening… is a black void filled with hollows. If they sense any hint of reiatsu, they attack relentlessly. But…this is the only direct opening to Aizen." Toshiro said, putting the map back into the folds of his Shikakushou. He stood next to Sakana, concentrating his spiritual pressure to his feet.

**(AN: Think of Naruto Path of the Ninja 2; the High-Speed maps)**

"On three…one…two…"

With a burst of reiatsu, the two Soul Reapers pushed forward, plunging into the darkness. Sakana could hear the silent roars (okay, contradiction; quiet roars) surrounding them as they ran blindly in the pitch dark. Suddenly, Sakana felt something coming at her side, and leapt up, dodging it. She closed her eyes, concentrating. She didn't need all of her senses to do this, especially sight.

"Right!"

Toshiro leapt to the right, narrowly avoiding a hollow. Mentally the snowy soul reaper groaned. This path seemed to take forever. As he listened to Sakana's instructions, his hand itched to draw his sword and start swinging away. However, he knew better; they needed to conserve all of their energy for fighting Aizen.

"Up! Left! Duck!"

Sakana sniffed the air; beyond the stale smell of hollows, she could smell fresher air. They were close, very close. By the sound of it, a door blocked their path before they could escape the dark pathway. Sakana drew her Zanpakuto, still shouting instructions to Toshiro.

"Duck! Right! Jump!" Sakana shouted. Opening her eyes, she swung her Zanpakuto, releasing it and sending a ball of fire towards the door. The door exploded in flames and fell over, allowing the two captains to safely leave the dark hall.

As they stood there, pausing for a moment to catch their breath, both soul reapers sensed a familiar presence. Sakana looked up, her grip on her Zanpakuto tightening slightly. Had he kept his promise?

"Ya, Sakana-chan, Shiro-kun!" Gin waved cheerfully. Sakana raised an eyebrow; he wasn't wearing his Hueco Mundo attire, but the third division taichou haori. Toshiro glared at the fox-faced man.

"It's HITSUGAYA-TAICHOU."

"Maa, where are the others?" Gin asked, "The rest of the squads."

"They're on their way here." Sakana said, tossing her Zanpakuto lazily over her shoulder. She smirked and pulled lightly at the haori. "Prepared to tell Yama-jii you're on our side, now?"

"Yah. I wanted to go out and help the Soul Society get situated, ya know? I dunno if they'll let me…" Gin sighed, "Rather, I dunno if they'll see me as an ally or enemy."

Sakana smiled, reaching into her Shikakushou. She rummaged around before pulling out a large folded note. She handed it to him. It had fancy kanji written on it in bright pink ink.

"If you hold that up when you go to them, Ukitake and Shunsui will see it, especially Shunsui. They'll know you got it from me."

Gin nodded. "Here, take this." He said, handing them a map in return. It was a map of Hueco Mundo that, by the looks of it, was hand drawn by Gin himself.

"Here. It'll take me five minutes to get through here, since I'm not fighting these baddies in there." Gin jabbed his thumb at the entrance the two soul reapers had entered through, "It's very easy. Now, have fun~!" Gin said, stepping inside and disappearing. You would have sworn he was going to a picnic, not fighting in the largest war. Sakana looked at the map and Toshiro looked over her shoulder.

"Okay…looks like we just go through here and take a right… and he'll be right there." Sakana muttered. She put the map in Toshiro's Shikakushou as he drew Hyourinmaru. The faithful Zanpakuto shuddered, ready for the upcoming fight.

"Let's go!"

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Aizen's eyes widened at the huge spiritual pressure heading his way. He frowned; it seemed like they were brining the war to him a little sooner than he expected. To make matters worse, he didn't know where Gin had disappeared off to. Turning to his left, he smiled at the young girl standing next to him.

"Momo. I want you to go out and fight. You are much stronger now. I believe in you." He smiled at Hinamori.

"Anything for you, Sosuke-taichou."

With that, Hinamori disappeared. Aizen then turned to Ulquiorra, who had reappeared after being gone for about 20 minutes.

"Aizen-sama… it's…"

"I know. Take the Espada to greet the taichou, and deploy Grimmjow to deal with Ichigo-kun. Then take the rest and have them deal with the others. Also, tell the Espada to spread out. If two taichou manage to be close enough… they'll deal huge damage using a combo attack (LMAO Bleach Dark Souls Moment) and we don't want that."

"Yes, Aizen-sama."

As the ground trembled from the reiatsu, Aizen turned his attention to the doorway. The doors were open, and Aizen could faintly see two shadows.

"I know you two are there. There is no point in hiding."

Sakana let out a chuckle. "Oh? I guess the game's up." She said, her Zanpakuto in her left hand as always. Toshiro stood next to her, an icy glare in his eyes.

"Since you are here, I might as well entertain myself with you." Aizen said calmly, drawing his Zanpakuto. Toshiro and Sakana moved into a fighting stance, both of their eyes narrowing.

Then the fight began.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Amaya swung her Zanpakuto, killing another hollow. The enemies had advanced quicker than they had expected. Beside her, Gin, who had managed to tell the head captain that he was on their side, released Shinsou, impaling a low-ranking arrancar. He seemed gleeful to be fighting against Aizen's forces, instead of with them. As wave upon wave or Shinigami marched towards the fortress of Hueco Mundo, Hollows and Arrancar opposed them, joining the fray. Hana, who was leading the fourteenth division, let out a squeal upon seeing an Espada with a spoon hat. She had disappeared in his general direction, shouting something about beating him and claiming the hat as her own. Soon, flashes of lightning illuminated the battlefield as Hana laughed, firing bolt after bolt of lightning at Nnorita.

Off to the left, Ichigo had confronted Grimmjow, and had released his bankai, wasting no time. Grimmjow was dodging the black Getsuga Tensho, but Ichigo was giving him a hard time. Amaya wondered for a moment why he did not use his hollow power, but then remembered that he probably didn't want the Soul Society knowing he was a vizard.

Ulquiorra had appeared on the battlefield as well. Ara, who had been ordered not to follow Sakana like she usually did, contented herself with beating up Ulquiorra with her Zanpakuto. Green flashes of light from Ulquiorra's green Cero shot up from behind a sand dune where the two were fighting.

Yamamoto was off to another side, fighting against the blind traitor. Tousen was putting up a huge fight against the head captain. They were far away; the only thing visible was flashes of black and immense amounts of flames. It was too hazy to even see the fight.

All of the other captains shouted orders to their squads as the arrancars and hollows attacked. Ukitake and Shunsui were put in charge of keeping track of casualties and the overall orders. It was not very difficult to see the two captains with double swords; occasionally one would see flashes of pink as Shunsui wasted an arrancar with ease. Ukitake seemed to blend in with the white sand, shouting orders at the top of his ill lungs while surprisingly not succumbing to a coughing fit.

Amaya gripped Miratsukiai, narrowing her eyes. Even though she had trained herself to tune out other feelings and thoughts, the bloodlust was clear as day. She swung Miratsukiai again, killing another hollow, before she felt a sharp point and heat against her back. Only three people could do that: Yamamoto, who was fighting Tousen, Sakana, who was with Toshiro fighting her father, and…

"Hinamori Momo."

"Amaya, please! Can't you stop them? Aizen-sama has good intentions!" Hinamori whined.

Amaya's eye twitched. "It's Higashi-taichou. Wait, why should I care? You're not my fukutaichou anymore. You're an enemy that needs to learn her place. Aizen has no good intentions. He's tried to kill my friends, waste the Soul Society… do you think those are good?!"

"It's all part of his plan!" Hinamori begged, "He's doing it for good!"

"NO HE ISN'T!" Amaya roared, "You are blind! I guess I'll have to make you see the error of your ways… Torisaru! Miratsukiai! (AN: Eliminate, violet rain)" she shouted. Hinamori raised her eyebrow as the hilt of the Zanpakuto turned into a clear substance; it was almost diamond-like. The blade turned purple, and a black ribbon came from the end and wrapped around her arm. Her eyes had an emotionless expression; Hinamori was no longer a member of the court guard squads; now, she was just another enemy that had to be eliminated. She gave a silent apology to Toshiro, for having to hurt the girl he called his sister.

"Snap! Tobiume!" Hinamori shouted, releasing her Zanpakuto. Amaya smiled; she was going to enjoy eliminating this girl.

**(BRIEF AUTHOR'S NOTE!!! Amaya's Zanpakuto, Miratsukiai, has a similar ability to Aizen's Kyouka Suigetsu. In Shikai it creates the illusion the opponent is stuck in a void where random things will happen (at Amaya's control, of course). The bankai… I'm not telling xD. You'll see later)**

The other captains and vice-captains held nothing back. Off in the distance, Ikkaku had used his bankai and was laughing as he fought an arrancar, shouting something about "the most fun he was ever going to have". Kenpachi and three arrancar had disappeared somewhere off in the distance, huge blasts of his reiatsu being felt even where the main fighting was. Mayuri's bankai was causing much havoc as always, poison gas and sheer size wasting opponents left and right. Komamura's hard-to-miss bankai was entangled with an arrancar whose release was the same size as it.

The divisions were not faring very well, with most of the vice-captains fighting difficult arrancar. Renji was fighting an arrancar, his huge snake-like bankai wrapping around it. Nemu and Nanao, whose divisions were next to each other, fought back to back, trying their hardest against a particularly stubborn arrancar. Ukitake ran back between his division and the fifth division, making sure that Amaya was alright. The hell butterfly kept up with him as he shouted orders.

"Divisions! Report!"

A huge sound like an explosion almost deafened Ukitake before he heard Sasakibe's voice.

"Fatalities are a little over 150. It's too hazy to see where Soutaichou is."

Once again, Ukitake was almot deafened by a loud shout. He winced as Soifon reported.

"Fatalities over 200! I just got the second hit in!" Trust Soifon to give a short, precise report.

"Third division! Fatalities over 300, we are moving forward!" Izuru shouted, "Ichimaru-taichou is with Higashi-taichou, I think!"

Ukitake smiled; Kira seemed happy that his captain had returned. Unohana's calm voice came up. "Fourth division. Fatalities are… over 100, I am currently with the 11th division."

Ukitake didn't hear anything from Amaya, and he was immediately worried until her boisterous voice came on.

"CHEYAH!!! Sorry, Uki-kun! Um, Fatalities are over 200, I think… I'm fighting TAKE THAT sorry, Hinamori here!" Amaya shouted.

"H-Hinamori? So, she is on Aizen's side?" Ukitake asked. There was a subtle change in everyone's reiatsu as they all heard the news. Ukitake could hear swords clashing as Amaya fought off Hinamori.

"GYAH! Yeah! She's definitely become stronger. Gettin' to be a little pest…"

Ukitake shook his head. His Amaya would be okay. A soul reaper from the sixth division reported.

"Sixth Division! Fatalities over 400, Kuchiki-taichou is somewhere, and Abarai-fukutaichou is fighting an espada!"

A loud roar slightly surprised Ukitake as Komamura reported.

"Seventh Division! I'm in a trap with an Espada, don't know how long we can hold out! Fatalities over 250, we're being pushed back! GRAWR!"

"Maa, Juu-chan. Fatalities less than 300. My Nanao-chan is doing very well." Shunsui chuckled, "You okay?"

"I'm fine, Shunsui." Ukitake said, a small smile gracing his features as he drew his Zanpakuto, quickly stabbing a hollow before it got a chance to attack. Even in war, Shunsui managed to stay cheerful and optimistic.

"Ninth division! I'm fighting this weird zebra arrancar! Fatalities less than 200!" Hisagi shouted.

A pause worried Ukitake before a few huge thuds grabbed his attention.

"Sorry! Our fatalities are at 250 right about now! We're doing great considering!" Rangiku said. To his surprise, Ikkaku's voice came next.

"The captain's fighting three arrancar, I've got an Espada, and the fatalities are over 9000! DOOORRYYYAAAA!" Ikkaku shouted. Yumichika's calm flowing voice followed.

"Ikkaku, don't do that. Sorry, Ukitake-taichou. Our fatalities are really over 700. He was merely exaggerating."

Ukitake rolled his eyes. He knew that the 11th division's fatalities were going to be high. Nemu's quiet report came next. "Twelfth division. Master Mayuri is in combat with an Espada. Fatalities are under 300."

"Taichou! Fatalities are under 400, we can hold on!" Kiyone shouted.

Ukitake didn't hear anything from the fourteenth division, and was getting worried until he heard something like… sizzling flesh before Hana spoke.

"Fourteenth division! We're making great progress! We have fatalities under 100, and this Espada I'm fighting has an awesome spoon hat! It's mine when this is over!" Hana laughed as a bolt of lighting flashed in the distance. Ukitake chuckled; Hana seemed to be having a great time fighting Nnorita.

Ukitake released his Zanpakuto, slashing an arrancar in an X pattern with a grunt. Hopefully Sakana and Toshiro had found Aizen and would defeat him before it was too late. Even he wasn't sure how long they could hold out.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Sakana cursed for the millionth time. Aizen was starting to piss her off. Both captains were in bankai, attacking the many illusions of Aizen. Sakana was sending fireballs everywhere, beginning to get very irritated. Every time they attacked one of the Aizen's, it disappeared and they had to narrowly dodge a lethal attack. Said traitor's Zanpakuto was starting to really piss her off, too.

"Why don't you two use your Rinji Kenpei?" Aizen said, calmly, a smile still present on his face. Sakana growled, brushing her bloodied hair from her eyes. Her haori was stained, and one leg was bleeding, staining the tabi.

"Shut the hell up."

Toshiro's wings were rebuilt for the umpteenth time. He too had suffered quite a few hits, blood running down his cheek and down his arm. His blue wings were stained with blood, and he was panting. The air was thick with tension as boyfriend and girlfriend, fellow captains, and lifelong friends stood side by side, Sakana's fiery wings practically touching Toshiro's icy ones. They could feel the reiatsu of the court guard squads outside the fortress, and knew that they were faring quite well against the army of Hueco Mundo. Their somewhat vague plan had worked, and now they were fighting the self-proclaimed king of Hueco Mundo. They didn't even have to use up any reiryoku beforehand.

"Aizen, give up. We're going to kill you." Sakana said. Aizen's gaze did not falter, nor did his smile.

"I believe I told you before. Don't say such things; it makes you look weak. Besides, why don't you use your Rinji Kenpei?"

"_**He's trying to lure us into a trap."**_

"Because we don't want to." Toshiro shot back.

The many illusions of Aizen shrugged, and they all disappeared, revealing the true one.

"Well, I shall reward you for making it this far. I have never been pushed so far as to use this."

Sakana felt a sudden feeling of dread in her stomach. Toshiro shifted slightly, sensing this uncomfortable change in her. Then they both mentally cursed in horror at the next word to leave Aizen's mouth.

"Bankai."

The air around them blew forcefully, blowing clouds of dust and debris around. Toshiro sheltered them both with his giant ice wings, holding onto Sakana. Sakana's wings had disappeared for a moment as she felt Toshiro's icy grip around her.

"_**Damn, I should have figured he would have a bankai. He was a captain, after all." **_Sakana growled mentally. The wind died down, and Toshiro gently let go of his lover, carefully unfurling his icy wings.

All they saw was pitch black. No Hueco Mundo, no Aizen. They also couldn't feel any reiatsu, which worried them. They couldn't feel their own reiatsu, much less Aizen's or the Shinigami's outside. Sakana tightened her grip once more on Kaenrinmaru as her flaming wings came back into view, illuminating a small area around them.

"Where are we?" she asked, although she knew that it was a stupid question.

"We're in his bankai. For some reason, it reminds me of Amaya." Toshiro said, looking around. His aqua eyes scanned as far as they could see. He took a step forward until Sakana pulled him back.

"Don't."

The simple one word command made Toshiro stop. Sakana's eyes were closed, and her entire body seemed relaxed. Her breathing was calm, and she didn't move for a few seconds. Then she opened her eyes.

"I smell sulfur. Like a hot spring. Chances are there's one right near us." Sakana said. She fired a ball of flames off into the distance. It illuminated the ground underneath for a moment before disappearing into the darkness. Below was a murky liquid, steam rising from it.

"I'll take care of it." Toshiro said, holding one hand over the edge of the small piece of land they were standing on. Sakana felt something inching underneath her, and almost jumped.

"T-Toshiro! The ground, it's shrinking!"

Toshiro bit his lip before taking Hyourinmaru and poking the liquid with it. At once, it froze, and with it, a petal shattered and disintegrated. Now Toshiro had lost six petals, and his strength was waning. Sakana's dragon tail, which was a gauge like Toshiro's petals, was halfway white. The two Soul Reapers stepped carefully onto the ice, Sakana trembling slightly.

"Sakana…"

Toshiro knew that Sakana was remembering when they had gone ice-skating. The ice had shattered under her touch, without her meaning to. She was worried the same would happen again.

"Kaen-hime… I promise, this ice will not melt." Toshiro said. Sakana nodded, her resolve strengthening once again.

The flame taichou created a ball of fire and held it in her hand as they carefully took steps forward. Suddenly a huge gust of wind blew, throwing Sakana off her feet. She cried out as she hit a seemingly invisible wall and slumped, feeling something warm and wet flow down her back. She couldn't feel Toshiro's reiatsu; she didn't know where he was. It worried her to no end that all of her ways of reaching him were cut off.

As the wind died down, Sakana could feel that the scenery had changed. Her eyes felt like she had gotten shampoo in them. When she opened them, her sight was fuzzy. Even when she rubbed her eyes, she couldn't see.

"I can't see… I can't sense…I can't do anything…"

She pushed herself up, her flame wings growing back. It seemed bright, but it was still dark. She closed her eyes; her sight was bothering her too much for it to be of any use to her. Suddenly, she smelt it.

Mint and evergreen.

Toshiro was close, but where?

The taichou then slapped herself on the forehead. Duh, she was an empath and a telepath. No illusions, whether real or fake, could block her mental power. With her eyes still closed, she reached out.

"_**Toshiro! Shiro-chan! Where are you?"**_

_**Sakana? I can't see you.**_

Sakana was overjoyed at the response. She opened her eyes, the world around her blurred as if she needed glasses. Chances were that she would.

"_**Toshiro, give me a signal…anything."**_

A pillar of ice shot up very close by, and Sakana ran towards it, tripping over various rocks, and in some cases, nothing at all. She eventually reached Toshiro, whose ice wings had grown back. In the brief time they were apart, Toshiro's six petals had gone down to three. Sakana looked at her tail, which had also turned even whiter.

"Toshiro…let's use it."

Aizen chuckled quietly to himself. His small world was draining the two captains of their reiryoku. If he couldn't have two arrancar made of them, he would have to kill them. He thought it was over.

He was dead wrong.

"CHEYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"DORUYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Outside, the court guard squads were slowly pushing the arrancar back. Ichigo had defeated Grimmjow with the largest black Getsuga Tensho anyone had even seen. Tousen had died from being practically cremated by the head captain. Most of the captains had finished off their enemies. Ara, who had been fighting Ulquiorra, had returned, covered in blood but grinning manically. Hana had just finished off Nnorita, and now held his spoon hat in her uninjured hand.

Amaya was about to finish Hinamori off when all of them felt an overbearing reiatsu. Even a few captains were forced to their knees from the pressure. It was unlike any of them had ever experienced. Both sides stopped their fight, the arrancar wondering where the reiatsu was coming from.

Hana ran to Byakuya, who had beaten his Espada. The captain and lieutenant looked in the direction of the fortress, where a beam of gold light had shot from the top.

"That must be… taichou…"

Amaya and Ukitake both stared at Las Noches. The reiatsu was Sakana and Toshiro's, but it felt so incredibly different. The will to kill filled the air, giving the Shinigami hope. Hinamori pushed herself up with Tobiume, staring in horror at Las Noches.

"Captain Aizen!"

Before Amaya even had a chance to raise her Zanpakuto again, Hinamori had disappeared. Amaya, who had cuts and bruises all over her, collapsed onto the ground, panting for air that she desperately needed.

"That reiatsu… the tension… it feels like it's suffocating me…"

Ukitake knelt, wincing as he did so, and wrapped his arms around Amaya. He never truly understood what the empath/telepath felt, but he knew it had to hurt. He gently kissed Amaya on the cheek.

"It's okay."

Amaya latched onto Ukitake's arms, worry filling her eyes. The extreme pressure had disappeared, but the tension did not. All she wished was that her former captain and her boyfriend were all right.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Aizen blinked in surprise. In that instant, his bankai had been shattered, a huge crack running down the Zanpakuto. Sakana and Toshiro stood side by side, their Rinji Kenpei in full force. They had learned how to unlock its full potential. Sakana grinned, baring her fangs.

"Didn't see this comin' now did ya?" She smirked. Aizen regained his composure and frowned at the couple.

"You never cease to amaze me. I was not expecting you to unlock its full potential. No matter, this is only a minor setback. I believe it's time to end this." Aizen said. A pain in Sakana's side caused her to wince; they had to finish this now, in one final attack.

They had one chance.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

HOLY CRAPPAMOLAGE…

Okay, my brain is just about fried. I dunno if I can drag this out… but luckily the story is almost over. Thanks to everyone who has stuck it out here with me this far! I don't get a lotta reviews for my fanfics, but the few that I get keep me going!

Next chapter: THE WINTER WAR ENDS!!!! xP

--MattsyKunTEFA


	13. The War's Beginning, Part 2

"_All of this bloodshed could have been avoided. However, this is the final battle for justice. Let us have peace after the war." –Ukitake Juushiro_

KYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! THE WAR'S ALMOST OVER!!!!

I'm freaking ready to end this. I really am. I have a lot of other fanfics that have been put on hold because of this, the LONGEST FANFIC I HAVE EVER SEEN TO THE END! /confetti/ This has practically taken over my effin' life.

/cries/ the next Bleach chapter came out… poor Shun and Juu… /sob, sob/ NOOEZ KUBO-SENSEI! I WAS JOKING!!! _**JOKING!**_

**Inspiration: **Happy music and Ouran High School Host Club. O.o

**Chapter Rating: **PG-13

**Spoiler Warnings: **for the sequel, lol

**Chapter Warnings: **Language

"_These are normal thoughts."_

_Note: Some Japanese words may be in italics._

_**These are thoughts Sakana (and spirit animals) receives. "This is stuff she sends."**_

"_This is one's Zanpakuto."_

**Chapter 13: The War's Beginning, Part 2**

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Aizen raised an eyebrow. He had researched every aspect of their Rinji Kenpei, trying to prepare himself so he would not be thrown off guard. He knew its strengths and knew its weaknesses.

"I know everything about your Rinji Kenpei, now. It brings out the inner dragon in your soul. You share this form with your Zanpakuto; if you are mortally injured, your Zanpakuto will fade. In addition with giving you power, the Zanpakuto gives you this, its true form."

Sakana nodded, pretending to be interested. "You've certainly done your homework."

Aizen' cool façade returned, calmly smiling. "Yes. Your Rinji Kenpei allows you to combine your reiryoku to launch an attack. It brings about great agility. But most of all, it creates a mental connection to both users."

"_**Oh, great. Like we couldn't do that already." **_Sakana mentally complained. Toshiro let out a very soft snort.

_**It does strengthen your abilities, and allows me to talk to you without sounding like an idiot to myself.**_ He responded.

Aizen rummaged around in his pocket until he pulled out something, pointing it at the duo. "All of this, and you still will not be able to defeat me. With the Hogyoku, I can negate the Cero your Rinji Kenpei can create. Go on, try to attack. It is pointless." Aizen smirked. Sakana growled, and Toshiro let out a loud snort before both disappeared.

Sakana reappeared in the air, flapping the velvety red dragon wings. With a roar, she exhaled, blowing fire at Aizen. He quickly shunpo'ed out of the way with a smirk. However, the smirk quickly fell from his face when he shunpo'ed right in front of Toshiro, who smacked Aizen with his tail, freezing him into a block of ice. Toshiro landed in front of the frozen Aizen with a smirk.

"That was a little too easy."

Toshiro felt something stab him and looked down; a sword was sticking through his side. With a harsh roar, he flew forward and then up, using the frozen statue as leverage to launch himself in the air. He put a hand on his now bleeding side and winced; if it had been any closer, it would have killed him. Sakana raised both of her hands, and a red/orange Cero came from them, sailing towards Aizen. Said traitor raised the Hogyoku, and the Cero dissipated right before their eyes.

_**Sakana, we have to get the Hogyoku from Aizen before we can attack him, or it'll all be for nothing.**_ Toshiro snarled, flapping his wings. Sakana nodded and disappeared from view.

"Any diversion you create will not work on me." Aizen said calmly as Toshiro began to fire icicles at the traitor, pushing Aizen backwards. Diving at Aizen, he roared, firing an extremely large icicle at his feet. Aizen jumped up and then ducked as Toshiro sailed overhead.

_**Sakana, now!**_

Sakana reappeared on Aizen's right side, clamping her claws into Aizen's arm, the same arm that had the Hogyoku. Aizen winced, then his eyes widened in slight horror as Sakana breathed fire right in his face. Shutting his eyes, his grip on the Hogyoku loosened, giving Sakana the chance to swipe it from his grasp. Quickly relinquishing her grip, she leapt back, but not before Aizen swung his other arm, which had his Zanpakuto, cutting her across her face.

Sakana sailed backwards, her back hitting an icicle, but her grip on the Hogyoku never lessening. She roughly brushed blood from the shallow cut from her forehead. She squinted, her sight still slightly blurry. She felt Toshiro's cold presence next to her, and she gazed at him, opening her hand.

"You got it," Toshiro breathed, "Now we stand some sort of a chance." He put a hand to her forehead, carefully freezing the cut so it wouldn't bleed as much as it did.

Aizen's chuckling broke into their thoughts, causing both to look around. Aizen had disappeared.

"You shouldn't turn your back on the enemy, taichou-kun. Shatter. Kyouka Suigetsu."

Both soul reaper's cursed as suddenly, the world around them turned pitch dark. Sakana felt isolated as she shut her eyes, trying to block out the sensation.

This was all just a game to Aizen.

Suddenly, she felt cold, but it wasn't the same cold that Toshiro emitted. She crouched into a fighting stance in the dark, drawing her wings close to her body. The nightmare that she had had when she first became empathic and telepathic replayed in her mind.

With a snarl, she opened her eyes.

"_**TOSHIRO!"**_

_**I'm right next to you. You know how to shatter this weak illusion, right?**_ Toshiro responded, but it sounded faint, like he was far away. Sakana nodded, although she knew he couldn't see it.

Once again, she allowed her reiatsu to rise higher and higher, and felt Toshiro's do the same. At once, the black void shattered, revealing the tattered remains of the hall they were fighting in. Aizen blinked as his Zanpakuto reappeared, his illusion broken.

"Hmm. How unfortunate. Well, I don't really need my Zanpakuto to defeat you. What you hold in your hand is a copy I created of the Hogyoku. I hold the original in my hand." Aizen said, holding out his hand. Sakana looked in hers; it did look different than the original.

_**Sakana, let's use it.**_

"_**Use what?"**_

_**The Hogyoku. It may be a fake, but it would give us the power to defeat Aizen.**_ Toshiro thought. Sakana let out a surprised snarl.

"_**What? No! It'll turn us into Arrancar!"**_

_**No, it won't. Not if we don't have any intention of being Arrancar. We can absorb its power and launch one final attack before Aizen decides to use the original. **_Toshiro growled. Sakana closed her eyes with a sigh.

"_**Fine."**_

Aizen's eyes widened as the fake Hogyoku began to glow, as well as Sakana and Toshiro. Their reiatsu grew higher than ever before, even more powerful than the combined reiatsu of the court guard squads. He couldn't believe his eyes; they were actually using the Hogyoku, turning themselves into Arrancar on their own accord.

Then Aizen's jaw dropped. They weren't hollowfying.

"T-this cannot…"

Sakana opened her eyes. She was able to see clearly, now. Their normally yellow reiatsu had turned purple, and swirled around them. Toshiro snarled, a glare full of bloodlust directed at Aizen in his eyes. Both soul reapers had their hands pointed towards Aizen, and they too were glowing purple.

"It's over, Aizen."

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Every single soul on the battlefield were forced to their knees as a reiatsu even more powerful than before weighed on their shoulders. The only one that was seemingly not affected by this was Urahara, who had a slightly mortified look in his shaded eyes. Kenpachi's reiatsu or even Ichigo's reiatsu was not so dense and heavy. Amaya pushed herself up with Miratsukiai, her eyes wide as she recognized the reiatsu.

"Sakana… and Toshiro…"

"What's going on?" Ukitake asked Kisuke. Kisuke took off his blood-stained hat, recovering from the shock.

"The Hogyoku… it's being used, but…" Kisuke then chuckled, "I never would have thought its power would be used like this."

"Whaddya mean?" Amaya asked, still staring at Las Noches.

"The Hogyoku can be used to remove the barrier between Soul Reapers and Hollows. It created all of these Arrancar. But… it can be used as a one-time power boost. However, it's dangerous. I never thought… that anyone would even think of using it like this." Kisuke said, putting his hat back on.

"Which means… Sakana and Toshiro could die?"

"Die? Oh, no. The worst that could happen is they completely exhaust their reiryoku and never regain it." Kisuke said.

All of a sudden, roars could be heard around the entire battlefield. Some arrancars completely dissipated, but others turned back into Hollows, mostly Menos. Espada screamed in agony as their bodies dispersed. Others frantically clawed for their Zanpakuto that they would never see again.

"What's going on?!" Hana shouted over the screaming. Kisuke scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"Hmm, I believe Aizen is dead. He must have used his own reiryoku when creating the arrancar, and now that he's dead, there is nothing to support them." Kisuke said, "Those two just made ending the war a lot ea—"

The rumbling ground was the only warning they got when Las Noches literally exploded.

Everyone ducked as sand and wind blew over them, getting in their eyes and wounds. Some Soul Reapers were literally blown away, and some clung onto someone, whether it was an ally or enemy. The only thing visible was a huge blast of purple light from the general direction of Las Noches.

As quickly as the explosion happened, it stopped. Everyone slowly stood up as the dust settled, staring with mixed reactions towards where Las Noches used to be. Hana gripped the spoon hat in her uninjured arm as she made sure her division was all right before worriedly staring at Las Noches. Rangiku put a hand on Hana's shoulder, the same thought running through their minds.

"…taichou…"

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Toshiro opened his eyes, warily looking around. The force of the blast had destroyed everything around them. In one corner was a pile of rocks, a green Zanpakuto sticking out of it. In the same corner, a piece of white cloth caught his eye. Was it Aizen? He didn't know, didn't bother to find out, and didn't care. All he cared about was the girl lying in his arms.

Both of their Rinji Kenpei had disappeared, and their Zanpakuto had returned in their sealed state. Sakana was leaning against Toshiro, her grip on Kaenrinmaru slowly loosening. Toshiro sat on the ground with Sakana in his lap, letting out a soft groan as his body protested against the movement. Her other hand held Toshiro's but it was limp. Her head was bowed, and unmoving.

"Sakana…"

Toshiro's eyes felt like lead. He felt like sleeping for a century and a half, and then sleeping some more after that. But he couldn't let himself pass out without knowing if his lover was okay. He gently shook the girl in his arms, calling out to her both mentally and physically.

"Sakana… Sakana, wake up…"

He gently brushed the blood and soot from her face. The force of the explosion had melted the ice, including the ice on her forehead that was stopping the cut, which was now bleeding freely again. Sakana didn't move; there was no reaction whatsoever.

"Sakana… c'mon… wake up…open your eyes for me…"

No reaction. Toshiro started to panic a little bit, refusing to believe that anything had happened to her. He tried to calm himself down; he couldn't allow her to feel any panic or worry.

"Sakana… I love you… please, open your eyes…tell me you're alright, that you're still here with me." He whispered, gently kissing her cheek, his lips trailing down to the mark that he had left on her a few weeks ago, as he continued to call his princess.

"Sakana… wake up…not just for me… but for all of us."

Sakana stirred in his arms, letting out a small moan. His breath caught in his throat as she opened her eyes, staring dazedly at Toshiro.

"...Mmm…Shiro…"

Toshiro gently kissed Sakana on the nose, and it wrinkled, just as it always did.

"Welcome back."

Sakana groaned, fumbling around with Kaenrinmaru. She sat up with Toshiro's help and sheathed her Zanpakuto, whose blade had turned completely black. When she collapsed back into his lap, she took his hand, squeezing it gently.

"How are you…"

Toshiro let out a soft snort, wincing as he felt a pain in his side. Great, a broken rib in addition to all the other injuries. "I should be asking you that. You were the one who fired off that huge blast…"

Toshiro's expression turned to worry as Sakana suddenly tensed, her eyes shutting in pain. She let out a whimper, her grip on Toshiro's hand tightening. The snowy prince quickly scanned her body; no injuries that would cause her to tense up in pain so suddenly. She needed medical attention; hell, they both did, but she needed it a lot more.

"Sakana…hold on…"

"Think of me."

Toshiro raised an eyebrow at the Soul Reaper lying in his arms. He hadn't been expecting her to say anything in her current state—especially that—but suddenly, lyrics to a song he had listened to once rose to his mind.

_Think of all the things we've shared and seen_

_Don't think about the way things might have been_

_Think of me_

_Think of me waking silent and resigned_

_Imagine me_

_Trying too hard to put you from my mind_

_Recall those days_

_Recall back all those times_

_Think of the things we'll never do_

_There will never be a day when_

_I won't think of you…_

Toshiro closed his eyes, tears threatening to run down his cheeks. Sakana curled into a ball on his lap, breathing raggedly. The ice prince gently wrapped his arms around her, sheltering her with his love and affection. He thought of all the times they spent together, the comfort that they had provided each other. He thought of after the war, when they would be able to snuggle together, relaxing on the roof of a building, or in an onsen, basking in each other's presence. He thought of all the love they would have after this war, how he would love her and comfort her.

Sakana's body slowly relaxed as she felt Toshiro's love for her wash over her, protecting her. Neither of them had died from using the attack, but Sakana was back where she started in the beginning. Deep down, she was grateful; she had connected with her childhood friend, forming a bond that could triumph over anything. She began to sense the feelings of the Soul Reapers outside; pain, anguish, but mostly hope. She smiled slightly; Toshiro's love for her had drowned anything else out.

Sakana sighed, beginning to close her eyes and sleep for a while. The war was over, and they had emerged victorious. The madness was over.

Then, her eyes shot open. Something she hoped she would never feel broke into her thoughts, causing her to flounder in Toshiro's arms. Toshiro blinked at Sakana, wondering what she was shouting. He raised an eyebrow, his dazed mind trying to comprehend what she was shouting.

"No… AIZEN!"

Toshiro suddenly twisted his body, wincing in pain. Aizen was standing there, his hand on his Zanpakuto imbedded in the rock. With a yank, he pulled it out. There were many cracks in it, but it was still lethal, still able to cause harm. His entire body was bleeding, and he looked like he SHOULD have been dead.

Toshiro cursed as Aizen disappeared in a swift shunpo. He was too exhausted; they both were. They had no power left to shunpo or even run away. Sakana clung to Toshiro, shutting her eyes. Toshiro grabbed Hyourinmaru, wincing in pain as he raised the sword, hoping that he would be able to fend off Aizen.

"BANKAI!!! MIRATSUKIAI HARETSU (AN: Violet Rain Explosion)!!"

To their surprise, a battered Amaya covered in blood and wielding a Zanpakuto with a black diamond hilt and red/purple blade stabbed Aizen through the back. She smirked as a black bubble surrounded Aizen, who screamed in surprise.

"AMAYA! MY OWN DAUGHTER, WHAT IS THE ME—"

Aizen didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as the black bubble contracted and then exploded, black and purple droplets raining down on them. Amaya landed in front of them, then fell to her knees, her Zanpakuto going back into her sealed state.

"Heh… looks like I got her just in time." Amaya breathed. A sickening squelching coupled with a thud sounded behind her as Aizen fell. Amaya turned around and poked at the body. When it did not respond, and nothing came from it, Amaya breathed a sigh of relief. A hell butterfly flew into the obliterated area, and Ukitake's worried voice came from it.

"Amaya! Are you okay? Did you find them?"

"Heh… just in time, but yes. I found them. Tell the fourth division that we need medical attention for three." Amaya chuckled. Toshiro held Sakana in his arms, and she smiled weakly.

"_**Nice that you found us…"**_

"Too tired to even speak, Sakana-chan?" Amaya asked, plopping on the ground, "I can't even feel your reiatsu…back to square one?"

"_**Probably…"**_

Toshiro kissed Sakana's nose, the only place that wasn't covered in too much blood or grime. Sakana let out a soft sigh and snuggled in Toshiro's arms, falling asleep. Toshiro faintly heard the fourth division Shinigami running to treat them, but didn't care. All he cared about was Sakana. She was safe, and they won. He looked up at the sky, letting out a tired sigh.

War was always terrible, but at least it was over.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Yamamoto smiled proudly at the two slumbering occupants of the room. They were the true heroes of the Winter War, bringing Aizen to his knees. A few weeks had passed since everyone had returned to the Soul Society, and there were still many patients in the fourth division. Many were still struggling for their lives, and others were close to being released. No captains or vice captains had died (Yamamoto considered it a true miracle), but a few would not be returning to their division soon, including Kenpachi, who shockingly enough, had almost come close to death for taking on three arrancar at the same time, and Komamura, who had almost lost an arm to the Espada he had fought.

The two heroes of the war also would not be returning to their divisions for a long time. For the past two weeks all they did was sleep, occasionally waking up to eat. When one was awake, the other would still be asleep, so they never got a chance to talk. Sakana was surprisingly not being overloaded with emotions and thoughts, since she was back to being super-sensitive. They were in their own private ward in the back of the Fourth Division, a shield placed around it to protect them from anything foreign.

When Unohana came up behind Yamamoto, she smiled softly at the two dozing occupants, who couldn't stay awake for longer than thirty minutes before they fell asleep again. Yamamoto seemed happy that the two captains would be okay.

"To think that a pair so young would save all of us." Yamamoto said quietly before leaving Unohana with her patients.

Unohana brushed Sakana's bangs out of her face, pinning them back gently with a hairpin before undoing the bandage around her forehead. The wound had healed quite nicely, and didn't even leave a scar. She gently put her hand on Sakana's forehead, feeling for any sort of fever. Luckily, there was none, and Unohana disposed of the bandage.

Sakana's Zanpakuto lay next to her on the bed. Sometimes when Unohana would check on them in the middle of the night, she would be hugging her Zanpakuto to her, brow furrowed in what seemed to be humorous anger. Unohana gently took the Zanpakuto off the bed and put it on the sword rack in between Toshiro and Sakana's beds. After checking on Toshiro, she was about to leave when she heard Sakana stir.

"Mm…"

Unohana turned around, smiling at the sleepy soul reaper, who rubbed her eyes before squinting at Unohana.

"…Unohana-san?" she muttered, more to herself. Unohana went and sat at her bedside, waiting for Sakana to wake up a little more. She then noticed that Sakana's eyes seemed out of focus.

"Sakana, how are you feeling?" Unohana gently asked.

"Tired as hell. Other than that, pretty fine."

Unohana looked at Sakana, who kept rubbing her eyes. Getting up and standing a distance away from the bed, she held up two fingers.

"Sakana, can you tell me how many fingers I'm holding up?"

Sakana squinted again, making an adorable face as she tried to see. "Um… four?"

Unohana returned to her bedside. "Somehow, during the fight with Aizen, you became nearsighted. You will be fine, though."

"Alright…" Sakana yawned, "God, I'm so tired…"

"Don't try to fight it. It is natural; after all, you did exhaust your reiryoku. I will return later." Unohana said. Sakana gently waved Unohana off as she left the room and closed the door.

Sakana looked around. Toshiro was lying in his bed, still fast asleep. Feeling brave, she swung her legs out of bed, testing their strength. When she was sure she would not face plant into the floor, she carefully walked over to Toshiro's bed.

Her ice prince was still fast asleep, his arms wrapped around a pillow. She reached out, stroking the snow-white hair she loved so much. Sakana jumped when Toshiro shifted, moving over to the other side of the bed.

"…come here…"

Sakana blinked sleepily at her boyfriend. His hand had poked out from underneath the blanket, searching around until it found Sakana's hand. His eyes were still closed; he was still asleep.

"…get in…don't worry about it………"

Sakana shrugged; her eyes felt heavy and she felt like sleeping for another thousand years, so she climbed in, snuggling against Toshiro's chest. He let go of the pillow he had been hugging to himself and wrapped his arms around Sakana, who closed her eyes, feeling drowsy again. She felt him give her a squeeze and he whispered something in her ear before they fell back asleep.

"…I love you."

Hana and Byakuya (who seemed less emotionless since the end of the war) were going to pay a visit to the two captains when they bumped into Amaya and Ukitake. Ukitake was limping slightly, but they both had huge grins on their faces.

"Hana! I have something for you from Sakana-chan!"

"From taichou?" Hana questioned. Amaya rummaged in her Shikakushou, pulling out a folded piece of paper. Hana opened it, scanned the contents, and let out a loud squeal.

"OHMIGOSH!"

Byakuya picked up the piece of paper Hana had dropped and read it aloud as Hana bounced around him cheerfully.

"I, Sakana Satoshi, hereby recommend my vice-captain, Hana Sentaishi, for the position of Ninth Division Captain. And… Yamamoto-soutaichou approved." Byakuya said, sounding very pleased. Hana bounced up and down excitedly, hugging him cheerfully.

"I can't believe it! The whole reason she never promoted me was because she couldn't find a replacement vice-captain!" Hana exclaimed. Ukitake chuckled.

"We figured you would have liked to know. Sakana told me to save it until after the war." He said, "Where are you two going, anyways?"

"Well, we were going to visit taichou!" Hana said cheerfully, "Now I'm going to give her a huge hug!"

"Ah, we just came from there. They're asleep." Amaya chuckled, "you can still drop off the flowers, though."

After nodding their goodbyes, Hana and Byakuya went up to the door. Hana knocked on it, but didn't get a response. Hana shrugged and opened the door.

Hana had to put her hands over her mouth to stop from squealing. Her captain and her boyfriend looked so adorable, lying asleep together. Hana left the flowers beside their beds before leaving for her new division.

A few weeks later, the two were released. Sakana's empathy and telepathy, as she found out, would never completely go away; it was something she would have to live with for the rest of her life. Also, now being nearsighted, Sakana had to wear glasses until Unohana could order contacts. Sakana didn't mind one bit, except when her glasses got any hint of a smudge on them. Both Sakana and Toshiro had business to take care of with each of their divisions, so they took the day to sort things out.

First Sakana needed a new vice-captain. After Hana's (reluctant) promotion, she needed a replacement. She tried to convince her third seat, Ara, but she denied it. After thinking about it for a while, she went to Ichigo, who had been visiting Renji.

"Oi, Ichigo! C'mere!" Sakana shouted. Ichigo raised an eyebrow and went over to where the captain was standing.

"Hey, Sakana. How are you and Toshiro?"

_**It's Captain Hitsugaya.**_

Sakana raised an eyebrow, looking around. Normally she could only hear Toshiro's thoughts when they were close by.

"_**Huh? Where are you?"**_

_**In my office. I can hear you. **_Toshiro's voice sounded smug.

"Uh, hello?" Ichigo asked, waving a hand in front of Sakana.

"Oh, sorry. Kurosaki-kun, I have a proposition for you." She said, sighing, "See, I'm in a bind. I never promoted Hana in the past because I didn't have anyone to replace her."

"Go on…"

"And, well, I promoted her. So I have this empty spot."

"Go on…"

"Oh, c'mon! You know where this is going! I want you to be my vice-captain!" Sakana exclaimed. Ichigo's eyes widened.

"You want me… to do what?"

"I'll make arrangements for you, and the good thing is, we're the division with the least paperwork! Whadaya say?" Sakana grinned holding out her hand. Ichigo paused for a moment before grinning back and shaking her hand.

"Okay, I suppose." He said.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Toshiro was working on paperwork when Sakana slipped in behind him. She quickly put her hands over his eyes, and he chuckled.

"Sakana, I know its you."

Sakana pouted childishly. "Aw, no fair, Shiro-chan!"

Toshiro smiled at his girlfriend, who seemed happier than usual. "What's up? You're bouncing around like Yachiru."

"Ichigo's my vice-captain now~!" Sakana said cheerfully. Toshiro felt happy for her. For the first time in a while, she would have a vice-captain that wasn't abusive.

"Whatcha doing?" Sakana said, sounding like a small curious child. Toshiro put down his brush and sighed.

"I was doing paperwork for all the casualties we had, but seeing as you're here, I won't get any work done." He muttered with feigned annoyance as Sakana kissed his cheek.

"Oh, come on. I'm not that much of a distraction, am I?"

"With your buzzing around as well as thinking random things, yes it is, love." He whispered, getting out of his seat. He grabbed Sakana's hand and the two walked from the office.

"You're going to make Rangiku do the work, aren't you?" Sakana chuckled. Toshiro smirked as he jumped on top of the 10th division building. Sakana leapt up, landing neatly in his arms.

Eventually, the two settled on the roof, watching the sunset. Sakana was lying in Toshiro's lap, and Toshiro had his arms around her waist. Both were very content. Sakana allowed her eyes to close halfway, basking not only in the sunset, but also in Toshiro's love. Sakana could not have asked for a perfect ending; the war was over, they were victorious, and Sakana had her boyfriend all to herself. She felt Toshiro kiss the mark on her shoulder, and she shuddered, giggling slightly as the sun finally set and the stars came out. Sakana moved next to him and pulled a bottle of sake and two dishes out from her Shikakushou, pouring both of them some. Toshiro kissed Sakana before taking a sip.

"This is perfect."

Below, they could hear Rangiku, Ichigo, and Amaya trampling around the 10th division, calling both captains names. Neither captain bothered to respond or even move; this was their special moment, and they wouldn't let anything ruin it. As the noise receded, Sakana chuckled.

"You know, there was more to the prophecy. About the will of the heart."

"Hmm? What was it?"

"That the two would be able to see the true form of the will of the heart in the end because of the bond." Sakana said. Toshiro opened his eyes, looking up into the sky.

"Look."

Above them was something that resembled the northern lights. It was a myriad of colors; a truly beautiful sight. As the two dragons sat next to each other, they knew only the two of them could see it. As Sakana leaned against Toshiro, glad to be alive and with the man she loved, she whispered in Toshiro's ear,

"This light… the will of the heart… I see."

Toshiro smiled and wrapped his arm around his girlfriend.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

An author's note: OH MY GOD. I have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to put the title of this fanfic into the story, and it finally happens at the end! I HAVE OFFICIALLY FINISHED THIS FANFIC AS OF MIDNIGHT 4 JULY 2009! Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii (breath) iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii (gasp)iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii (pant dies, comes back) iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii (good lord) iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight NOW!

(dies from lack of air)

Okay, after my randomness, some other stuff.

This is the second fanfic that I have managed to finish in my lifetime. Well, this isn't officially finished, but all that's left is the epilogue, and that won't take long. Thanks to all of my reviewers, how few there are. I had planned to finish this at the end of summer~

I have a sequel planned, but you'll find out about that next chapter xD Also, a special surprise next chapter~! Love ya guys… now I'm going to sleep…

--MattsyKun_TEFA

PS: this chapter is exactly 5000 words! xD


	14. The End or the Beginning

"_You may have tried to weaken us. You may have tried to pull us apart. But this bond, this rinji kenpei, has brought us closer than ever. We will stand for justice, and, as dragons, we will not be swayed and defeated as easily as you may think. With this bond, we cannot fail. I no longer believe in only myself. I believe in him, who believes in me." –Satoshi Sakana_

Yayz… almost over… this fanfic has taken over my life… xP I dunno why I wrote this the way I did… and I needed someone to fill in Sakana's vice-captain position.

Also, my sight has officially gotten worse. Even now, when I'm typing, I have to have it up to 130 percent because I type this in size 9 Verdana font. I used to be able to read it like that at 100% a few months ago… T.T I need new glasses. I need a job… /sob/

**Inspiration: **currently watching bleach episode 130… wow, Rangiku would make a great mom xD and my friend Mandi gave me the idea for the "getting out of the captain's meeting" xD

**Chapter Rating: **PG-17

**Spoiler Warnings: **for the sequel, lol

**Chapter Warnings: **LEMON! (finally) it's been marked.

"_These are normal thoughts."_

_Note: Some Japanese words may be in italics._

_**These are thoughts Sakana (and spirit animals) receives. "This is stuff she sends."**_

"_This is one's Zanpakuto."_

**Chapter 14: Epilogue**

Ichigo yawned tiredly as he went to the office. He had just gotten from school, and he was dead tired, even though he had spent half of the day sleeping. He ruffled his bright orange hair, wanting to get the day's paperwork done so he could sleep on the couch. His half-closed eyes widened slightly as he heard something from the other side of the door.

"Mm… that feels great…"

"Heh. Feels good, doesn't it?"

"…_that sounds like Toshiro…"_ Ichigo thought.

"Oh, god, yes… mmgh… amazing, even…"

"Thanks."

"Ah… little to the left…"

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. Sakana was in there, and so was Toshiro. What was going on?

"A little harder, Shiro-kun. Ah, right there! Haaa…ahahaha……"

"How's that?"

"Perfect. Don't stop, this feels great…"

Ichigo took a few steps away from the door with a mortified look on his face. _"W-what the hell is going on?! M-Maybe I should just go back…"_

"Oh…nnnggghhh… yes… ouch, you're hurting me…"

"Oh, sorry…"

"T-to the right! Yes! Ah, Toshiro…"

Steeling himself, Ichigo threw the office door open, a mortified look on his face. He opened his mouth to tell the two captains off for their actions when he took a good look at them.

Sakana was lying on her stomach on the couch, her haori on the arm. She seemed very relaxed, her right arm and leg hanging off of the couch. Toshiro had his knee on the couch to support himself. His hands were on Sakana's shoulders. Both were fully clothed and very confused.

"Hello, Kurosaki." Toshiro said, inwardly laughing at Ichigo's silly expression.

"W-w-w…what the hell?!" Ichigo exploded. Sakana let out a chuckle and pushed herself up onto her elbows.

"Toshiro was giving me a massage. He's pretty good at it." She said. Ichigo glared at the captains, and they looked back at him innocently.

"Y-You… You know what? I'm leaving." Ichigo said, throwing his arms up in the air. He turned on his heel and left, shunpo'ing off. Sakana giggled and Toshiro let out a snort.

"Kurosaki can certainly be an idiot sometimes." Toshiro said. He straddled Sakana, kissing her neck and ears. Sakana giggled, blushing slightly.

"Yes, he can be, but he's the best vice-captain I've ever had."

It had been a year since the end of the Winter War. After most of the Shinigami were back in their divisions, it was time to fill empty spots. Hana became the new ninth division captain after being nominated by Sakana. Gin returned to his position of third division captain, to the delight of Izuru and his division, and to the disgust of others.

Ichigo filled the position of 14th division lieutenant, being the only Shinigami in existence to receive such a ranking without officially joining the court guard squads. After much contemplation (and dangerous talks with one Kuchiki clan leader), Rukia became the new 13th squad lieutenant. Ukitake still shuddered when walking past the Kuchiki, afraid for what would happen if something were to happen to Rukia. The only division without a vice-captain was the fifth; they finally gave up on Hinamori ever returning; after she had disappeared in the war, no one had seen her again. They stopped caring about it.

A lot of bonds were formed. Amaya and Ukitake finally started dating since they had loved each other for years. Rangiku and Gin had become closer friends than ever after Rangiku lectured (and abused) Gin for four hours on suddenly leaving them like he did. Afterwards Gin walked around with a black eye, cuts, and bruises all over, smiling sheepishly and apologizing to anyone in his path. Hana had come closer to Byakuya (in more ways than one), and could be seen hanging out around the sixth division sometimes.

After the war, the Soul Society had changed, a lot for the better, unknown for the worse.

"Crap, we have a meeting." Sakana grumbled, pushing Toshiro off of her. Toshiro smiled and gently kissed her neck, forcing Sakana to push down a moan.

"We can always… skip it."

A mischievous look sparkled in Sakana's eyes, "Amaya has a great new idea that could get all four of us out of there. C'mon, we'll be out in ten minutes."

In the captain's meeting, Sakana looked like she was sleeping on her feet. Toshiro kept looking from Amaya to Ukitake to Sakana, who were looking at each other, mostly at Ukitake. About ten minutes into the meeting, Ukitake started coughing.

"Gufwua cough cough cough…" Ukitake coughed violently. Sakana went across the hall and patted Ukitake on the back. He coughed into the sleeve of his haori. When he moved the cloth away from his mouth, there was blood on it.

"Ugh…" Ukitake said, a faint blush on his face. Without warning, the captain collapsed in a cold faint. Sakana grunted as the weight of the captain landed on her.

"Ouch!"

Amaya (and Toshiro, when he was secretly gestured at) ran up, helping Sakana hold up the ill captain.

"Uh, Soutaichou, if you don't mind, we'll take Ukitake-taichou to the fourth division." Sakana said, carefully taking the blood-soaked (sorta) haori off of Ukitake. Yamamoto blinked, but nodded.

"Make sure he gets rest."

As Toshiro and Amaya carried the sick captain out of the hall, Sakana bowed gratefully to the head captain and ran after them with the haori.

Once they were a good distance away from the meeting hall, Sakana grinned.

"Nice performance, Uki-kun."

Toshiro blinked as Ukitake squirmed in their grasp. They carefully set the captain upright, who wiped his mouth. Toshiro's mouth was agape, his eyes widened in surprise.

"But… you… huuuuh?!" he said, confused. Sakana shook out the haori, wiping the red blood off.

"Ketchup." Ukitake said, pulling a tide pen from the depths of his Shikakushou and rubbing it over the ketchup stain. Soon it disappeared.

"We definitely can't do that very often, or Ukitake will stress out his lungs." Sakana said, hi-fiving her best friend. Amaya grinned.

"I'm brilliant, aren't I?"

"So Ukitake faked a coughing attack just so all of us could get out of the meeting?" Toshiro raised an eyebrow at Ukitake, "I can't see you as someone who plays hooky, Ukitake."

"Well, there's stuff…" he trailed off, picking up Amaya, who giggled as they shunpo'ed off, leaving the two captains standing there.

"Better get going before Yama-jii realizes we're not at the fourth division." Sakana said, taking Toshiro's hand. Toshiro kissed Sakana on the cheek, and she smiled.

"Love you." He whispered.

A few minutes later they found themselves in the fourteenth division garden; more specifically, Sakana's private garden. They lay at the pond's edge, cuddled in each other's arms.

"This was the best idea ever."

"Hmm." Toshiro mumbled, gently kissing Sakana's neck once again. She didn't hold back, and let out a breathy moan.

"Haa…"

Toshiro got on top of Sakana, straddling her, with his ever-so-sexy smirk on his face. Sakana blushed a little and giggled, sitting up slightly to kiss his lips.

**xXxXxX LEMON STARTS HERE XxXxXx**

Toshiro leaned down, relishing in Sakana's beauty, dipping his tongue into her mouth. Sakana moaned into his mouth, and Toshiro left her mouth, leaving butterfly kisses on her forehead and eyes. Within a minute, both were undressed, lying together in the secluded garden.

Toshiro, for once, did not try to tease his princess, at least, not a lot. He licked her lips as he felt her clit, which was wet. With a smirk, he kissed her eyelids that covered her glazed reddish-brown eyes. As he moved his tongue down to her opening, she moaned, her hips arching off the bed.

"Mmm…"

He contented himself with leaving kisses on the inside of her thighs as he thrust two fingers into her. He decided he would break his promise of not teasing her and stroked the area around that special spot, causing her to let out a half-moan, half-growl of frustration.

"Toshiro… you…"

"I what?" he smirked, thrusting against that spot. She jolted, her eyes flickering shut as a jolt, like a feeling of electricity, went through her. She growled and reached down to slap Toshiro upside his head (think: DiNozzo slap XD), but her hand dropped back to the ground as he stroked that spot again.

"…You… are annoying… mm…"

"Oh, stop. You know you love it, and you love me." Toshiro said, kissing her down there one last time before returning to her lips. Sakana spread her legs wide, and Toshiro kissed her as he thrust into her.

"Ah…"

Toshiro moved slowly at first, teasing her. She had felt slight pain, but it had soon numbed, leaving only an intense feeling of pleasure behind. She moaned and bucked her hips up, wanting him to go faster, wanting more. Instead, Toshiro kissed the mark that he had left a year ago, and the jolt of electricity that accompanied the kiss shot through her.

"Ah! Toshiro…"

Toshiro couldn't hold himself back anymore, so he began to pick up speed, thrusting into the tight cavern. As the pounding got more frenzied and rough, lust-filled moans echoed around the garden. Briefly Sakana was grateful that nobody even bothered to come close to the garden at this time of day, but her thoughts were put on hold as Toshiro continued to fill her. Her reddish-brown, glazed eyes were shut with the sensation, the red-hot, passionate heat coursing through their bodies.

"Ngh…! Shiro… harder…I …god…"

"Ah…so… good…"

The two couldn't even form complete sentences as they continued in their frenzy, their pleasure-filled world. Toshiro grabbed Sakana's hip, plunging into her at an erratic pace. As his spicy lover writhed underneath him, he felt her body begin to tighten around his erection, and knew that release was not far behind. Sakana shook her head, her lithe body trembling underneath him, whimpering and moaning at ever mood he made.

"Toshiro…I'm gonna…"

Without warning, he slammed into her, biting down where the mark before had began to fade. Sakana's entire body tensed as she came, screaming his name into the sky. Toshiro groaned as her body tightened around him, bringing his release to him. With one last thrust into the tight cavern, he came, moaning out her name.

**xXxXxX LEMON ENDS HERE XxXxXx**

As they laid together, plastered next to each other's hot, sweaty body, they stayed like that, their harsh breathing echoing around the garden. As Toshiro carefully unwrapped his arms from around Sakana, he realized that he was still inside of her, who was too tired to even move. As he gently withdrew from her, he heard her squeak quietly, that adorable noise that she only made when they made love. It was another many moments before their fried brains were able to comprehend the noise that was occurring outside.

"Try the garden, taichou likes to go there to think and relax sometimes. It's her private garden… right here. Be careful, Kurosaki-san."

"Thanks."

Their eyes widened as Ichigo's footsteps came closer. Disobeying their aching muscles, they grabbed their clothes and looked for the closest hiding place.

"There's nowhere to hide…" Sakana mumbled. Toshiro looked behind them.

"The pond."

"Huh?!" Sakana exclaimed as Toshiro pulled them into the pond. Sakana managed to get a breath of air before being completely submerged in the pond.

Ichigo looked around the garden. It was very well-maintained; it showed that Sakana cared a lot about the flowers. There was a pond, with a few lily pads floating in it. The area next to the pond was trampled, like someone had been there.

"Hm… I guess she isn't here…" Ichigo said, turning around and leaving the garden. He was thoroughly confused to where the captain had disappeared off to.

As soon as Ichigo was out of range, both of them surfaced, gasping for air.

"That…was close…" Toshiro gasped as he pulled himself from the pond. He began to pull on his clothes as Sakana wrung out hers.

"Great, now our clothes are wet."

"Well, they were going to be anyways. Now we smell like pond water. It's the perfect disguise." Toshiro said.

"You… are getting more devious lately."

"I learn from the best." Toshiro kissed Sakana, brushing her soaking wet hair from her eyes as she put on her clothes. She groaned as she pulled on her soaking haori.

"We should probably get back to the meeting…"

**XxXxXx XxXxXx**

"Hey, we're back." Sakana said, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. All of the other captains stared at the two soaking wet captains.

"…may I ask, WHY you are soaking wet?" Yamamoto asked, eyebrow raised.

"Hehe… funny story actually… we were on our way back when I remembered I forgot something in my garden… and I accidentally fell in the pond… that thing is a lot deeper than it looks…Toshiro had to go in and fish me out since a thing of seaweed was wrapped around my foot…" Sakana chuckled. Yamamoto shook his head.

"I see no need to continue this meeting. You are dismissed." He sighed.

As they all filed out of the meeting, Shunsui slapped his daughter on the back.

"Nice excuse. One question though: where's your glasses?" He asked.

Sakana blinked. Her eyesight was still messed up from the war, so she wore glasses until she could get contacts ordered. She rubbed her eyes staring at Yamamoto. He wasn't fuzzy, like he usually was, but quite clear.

"…huh." Sakana muttered, not really understanding.

Shunsui smiled and left for his division, so he could sleep some more before he was forced to do his paperwork.

Sakana smiled and threw an arm around Toshiro, "C'mon, we better change into some dry clothes." She said. Toshiro nodded.

"Yeah."

Before they left, Yamamoto went past them. Their eyes widened as he heard what he said as he passed.

"Only one person needed to go with Juushiro. If you were going to do that, you could have just skipped the meeting. And I sent Kurosaki to look for you in your garden."

The two captains stared at each other, and then at the old man's retreating back.

"Shit…" Sakana said.

Yamamoto controlled his laughter until he got to his division. "Hohoho… it was a good idea, nonetheless." He said, watching the two mortified taichou trudge off to their divisions to get dressed.

Toshiro glanced back to see Yamamoto watching them from his window. "Damn. Okay, next time, we're just going to have Shunsui take notes and skip the meeting."

"Haha, fat chance. Shunsui? Take notes? Hilarious." Sakana laughed. She wrapped her arms around Toshiro, wincing as she did so, and gave him a kiss.

Love had a funny way of working out for them, the two young captains of the Soul Society. Their bond was fueled by love, and as long as they had each other, they would never be pulled apart or broken.

**XxXxXx XxXxXx**

Meanwhile, in a place only seen by beings with high reiatsu, stood a young woman and a pale man. The young woman held in her arms a sword with a green hilt, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Why…"

"I will help you in your plan. With luck, it will bring him back." The man said, looking out into the rain that poured in Karakura Town. The young woman hugged the sword to her, brushing dirt off the sheath.

"Aizen-sama… I will avenge you." She whispered, "I'll kill Toshiro, and her." She said it with a hiss, venom clear in her voice. She turned around, walking back into the building.

"C'mon, Ulquiorra, let's get to work."

"Hai, Hinamori-san." Ulquiorra said, following her into the building and closing the door behind him. (Note: NO LEMON 4 U! xP)

**XxXxXx XxXxXx**

Thus ends the longest fanfic I have ever written.

Sorry for the crappy ending, I just wanted to end this finally. And there's a spoiler for the sequel xD yes, Ulquiorra didn't die. That will be explained in the sequel, which I don't have a title for, yet.

I started this fanfic around this time last year, I think. It was sometime last year, when I dreamed up this idea while taking a shower (like all of my inspirations lol). I didn't think it would turn into this, though. I knew I wanted to leave at least Hinamori alive, and then my friend begged me to leave Ulquiorra alive. So I eventually broke down and decided he too would live.

The sequel, I know, is going to start around some soul reapers snowing unorthodox symptoms and attacking other Soul Reapers. (Think Quarantine, cuz that's where I got the inspiration from xD) Hinamori managed to create a small parasite hollow that takes over parts of the Soul Reaper's conscious, causing them to rampage. Eventually it's all part of a plan, but I'm going to stop right now so I don't spoil anything.

Well, as the summer draws to a close (since band camp starts soon), so does this fanfic. Finally.

Shunsui: haha, like sand through an hourglass, so is the end of this fanfic!

Me: SHUNSUI! Shut it! (DiNozzo slap)

Shunsui: kawaii TEFA-chan! (glomp)

Me: Uh, it's TEPHA now. MattsyKun Teh Epic Phail Alchemist. I changed it xD

Well, thanks for reviewing, and adding to favorites, and story alerts! See ya in the sequel! (waves)

--MattsyKun Teh Epic Phail Alchemist (TEPHA)


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